How things have changed for Uhuru, Ruto a year after polls

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi.

Exactly one year after their controversial election, the simmering debate on the 2022 politics has put the relationship between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto at a politically awkward situation.

Once a happy-go-lucky and lighthearted duo, the pressures of political promises of the four years ahead could have started to take a toll on the president and his deputy.

The situation is compounded further by the entry of Opposition leader Raila Odinga into the fold with their handshake on March 9, and even lately the arrival of Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

Last week, during his first visit to the Rift Valley since his re-election, President Kenyatta felt the trepidation as leaders put pressure on him to confirm that his pact with Ruto still holds now that he was serving the second and last term.

Though Uhuru and Ruto steered away from the political hot potato, the endorsement and the assurance brought a weird moment. Before the repeat election, President Kenyatta spoke strongly about voters in the Rift Valley allowing him to finish his final term and he would in return support Ruto for presidency.

But in Kapsabet last week, the president avoided the cajoling speeches from the local leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen and a number of MPs, for him to endorse Ruto.

The political equation occasioned by the close working relationship between President Kenyatta and Raila has been unnerving for Rift Valley leaders who harbour political fear the National Super Alliance (Nasa) leader’s entry could complicate issues for their man.

Shaky house

Raila’s closeness with Uhuru has not only rattled the Rift Valley but also leaders in Mt Kenya who have been close to the DP and had hoped the region’s political marriage could be sustained.

While baiting Uhuru to the 2022 debate, Murkomen said a lot had been printed in the media that the Jubilee house is shaky. “We would like to see you stand firm as a united team despite many odds,” he told Uhuru and Ruto.

But Nandi Senator Kiprotich Cherargei was more direct, reminding Uhuru that as Rift Valley leaders, they had been true to the Jubilee agenda, and have 100 per cent trust in his leadership. “We continue to push for a Ruto presidency in 2022,” said Cherargei.

Dodging the political debate, Uhuru only told the crowd in Kapsabet and repeated it in Bomet Green Stadium that the residents should not be worried because “the Jubilee agenda will continue”.

He even chided some leaders: “I am surprised that the leadership of this region has the time to read half-baked stories about splits in Jubilee. I advise our supporters to ignore whatever is written in the newspapers.”

Bulding bridges

More nerving for the region is that Uhuru said his main agenda was to unite the country, an apparent reference to his and Raila’s Building Bridges Initiative. “All the decisions I make are for the benefit of the country,” Uhuru said.

But even as the local leaders reminded Uhuru of their pact with Ruto, the latter kept a distance and adopted a more general and celebratory tone by reminding the former of the tumultuous journey they had undergone. “We have ashamed those who did not trust we would get to this point, I am proud to be part of your team,” Ruto said. Majority Leader Aden Duale says Uhuru and Ruto have a good working relationship that has confounded both friend and foe. “The two leaders are focusing to bring development, they share a vision and they are close, anybody saying otherwise is lying,” Duale said.

He said Jubilee Party under Uhuru had a roadmap to fulfill its manifesto. “President Kenyatta has repeatedly said he will as the party leader lead the campaigns to have Ruto succeed him and anyone thinking to the contrary is pushing for disunity of Jubilee and we will denounce them.”

According to Kipkelion East MP Hillary Kosgei, the residents of Rift Valley and Kenya in general believe Uhuru was a man of his word and therefore it was unnecessary for leaders to put him to task often. “Until Uhuru comes out to say otherwise, we will continue to believe what he said and offer him our utmost support for his Big Four agenda,” Kosgei said.

To show that Raila’s entry into a working relationship with Uhuru rattled Ruto’s allies, they welcomed the former PM’s appointment as African Union Representative for Infrastructure Development with a caveat that he should not leave politics.