Uhuru to come face to face with Tangatanga stalwarts

President Uhuru Kenyatta. [Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta will today come face to face with Tangatanga stalwarts when he visits Eldoret to launch the revamped Rivatex.

The visit  to the textiles factory comes amid wrangles and tension in the ruling Jubilee Party.

The President has in the past criticised Mt Kenya leaders allied to Deputy President William Ruto for what he termed as premature 2022 campaigns.

President Uhuru will be accompanied by his deputy. He will meet some of his critics and anti-Handshake crusaders led by Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi.

Also expected are Nandi Governor Stephen Sang and Caleb Kositany (Soy) who have accused the President of sidelining the DP.

Since the Handshake, there has been political murmurs in the Rift Valley region, with leaders questioning the role of Opposition chief Raila Odinga in the national government.

Even though the critics say the President is welcome in the region, Kenyans will wait to see what happens when the event starts.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta is welcome in Uasin Gishu and should feel at home. Rift Valley is his ‘sitting room’. Today we will not talk politics, there is always a time for politics and a time for work,” Sudi said ahead of the event.

Kositany also said the event will be for the President and that local leaders who will not get time to speak at the event and will not take offence.

“If we don’t get a chance to talk, that will not be end of the world. People should not try to make it sound like it is a matter of life and death. We are ready to welcome the President here,” he said.

Speaking to hundreds of Akorino Church followers at Nairobi's Kasarani Sports Centre, Uhuru accused unnamed politicians allied to Tangatanga of undermining his quest to leave a legacy of a united country.

The remarks did not go down well with Ruto’s allies who felt targeted by the President's statement. Some of them now feel Uhuru could betray his deputy before 2022.?