By Anderson Ojwang
Finally, the chickens have come home to roost. No more shadow boxing. Time for reality check, and the boxing ring opens its gates. Gloves off and time for real punches. Bare knuckle. No more hiding, but hard hitting.
The short-lived political thorny marriage between President William Ruto and Kanu National Chairman Gideon Moi has crumbled and collapsed altogether. It is no longer reconcilable. Everyone for himself and God for us all motto.
President Ruto’s post on his social media platforms today poured cold water on the marriage and left the two leading leaders from Rift Valley to engage in an open battle.
The brotherhood, which was witnessed ahead of last year’s Baringo senatorial by-election, when Ruto visited Kabarak and the graveside of Kenya’s second president, the late Daniel Moi, to seal the marriage that witnessed Gideon’s withdrawal of his candidature, has now been thrown out of the window.
In Gideon’s hand, he is wielding the power of the pen, the Fourth Estate, Kenya’s oldest newspaper, The Standard Media Group, to wreak havoc on President Ruto and his administration.
Collapse
President Ruto, in his post on his X handle – and the only post of the day by the time we went to press – was hard hitting and set the tone for the battle lane.
Ruto wrote: “Gideon Moi, your Standard Media’s 5 days a week EXTORTIONIST propaganda HEADLINES on me and my administration’s transformative track record will get you NOTHING and NOWHERE. BLACKMAIL to yield to your GREED? Never! Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu 8 days a week. Do your WORST.”
The pregnant tweet did not only sever the marriage but opened the door to a bitter contest between the two leaders, which may leave the Kalenjin community sharply divided ahead of next year’s general elections.
Moi and the Standard Media group were yet to respond to President Ruto’s tweet, with the former’s last tweet being a day ago on the recent skirmishes in Angata Barikoi.
The genesis
Moi squandered the golden opportunity to rebrand and place the party of independence, Kanu, into the country’s political matrix in national politics at the by-election.
The by-election offered Moi an opportunity for an elective slot in the Senate and a new lease of life for the party.
But astute and strategic Ruto prevailed on Moi and lured him to drop his interest and instead join the broad-based government arrangement project.
This decision came after a private meeting with Ruto at State House, following which Moi failed to present his nomination papers to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
A section of residents of Baringo threatened to protest at the graveyard of the late President Daniel Moi to express their disappointment and suffering.
In the 2022 general election, the late William Cheptumo won the race by garnering 147,177 votes against Moi’s 71,480 and was poised to win the by-election against UDA candidate Kiprono Chemitei.
Gideon would have started the campaign on a strong 71,480 votes, and the changing political terrain in the county had endeared the electorate to him, but he blew the chance.
The game of politics
Ruto then told the residents that he had prevailed on Gideon to withdraw his candidature and join him in uniting the country.
“To the family of our father, Daniel Moi, and the people of Baringo, let me thank God for allowing us to gather here, at Kabarak, the home of our father, the second president of Kenya. I am happy. When I spoke with my brother Gideon, we discussed and planned about the old, previous, current, and future issues. After we had agreed on all the issues, the problem of who and where the message was to be delivered came into play. I told him, Kabarak was the best venue. Because Kabarak is our home. Nobody welcomes us here at Kabarak. We are at home. I understand Kabarak better. I know all the rooms and everything here at Kabarak. If there was a person closer to Moi in his last years as President of Kenya, it was William Ruto,” he said then.
The tactical move
President Ruto said he was the one who approached Gideon and announced that Kanu would be joining the broad-based government.
“I told Gideon, kindly join me and let us pull the country together. I have had conversations with Raila Odinga. I have sat down with my predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, and I have explained to him that we need to move this country to the next level. And I have looked for my brother Gideon. I told him it is time for us to move Kenya to the next level. We must work together, and that is why I looked for Gideon. I told him, I want you to come and help me pull this country together to elevate it to the next level. If there is a mistake anywhere, blame it on me,” he said.
The fix
Gideon, in a statement then, wrote: “We’ve elected to pursue the path of unity and shared purpose at this crucial point in our nation. As such, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Baringo for their support and for granting us a chance to move beyond our differences and mould a cohesive and prosperous nation.”
And with that, Gideon missed the opportunity to reclaim the Baringo senatorial seat and to make Kanu roar again.
Let down
Equally, Gideon ahead of the by-election had engaged in hunting for candidates to fly the Kanu flag in the parliamentary by-elections and was able to net two for Ugunja and Kasipul respectively.
In Ugunja, Kanu roped in a former university student leader, Chris Budo, a grassroots mobiliser and a respected leader in the community.
Kanu leadership, through the party Secretary General George Wainaina and Chairman Gideon, had promised to fund Budo’s campaign to win the seat.
Gideon and Wainaina, through intermediaries, had promised to finance the campaign for the candidates in order to make the presence of the party felt in a move aimed at enhancing the party’s visibility, but later reneged on their support.
“I am disappointed that my party did not meet part of the bargain. They asked me to present my budget, and that was the last time I heard from the party. They have undermined our campaign and agenda for the people of Ugunja. The party has failed and slowed down my campaigns. I am very disappointed in my party leadership,” Budo said then in a telephone interview.