Uhuru, Ruto to camp in Rift next week to quell simmering discontent

By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will early next week pitch tent in the Rift Valley to quell simmering discontent with the Jubilee coalition.

The duo will hold rallies in Eldoret, in the North Rift, and Kericho and Bomet in the South Rift on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

The decision to tour the vote-rich region was arrived at a meeting of the region’s MPs chaired by Mr Ruto in his office on Tuesday.

The Office of the Deputy President told The Standard over 50 MPs from the two dominant parties in the area: URP and Kanu, attended the meeting from seven counties in the region: Kericho, Bomet, Uasin Gishu, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi and Bomet.

MPs who spoke to The Standard said the Jubilee leaders will be visiting the region to say ‘Thank You’ for the many votes the ruling coalition reaped in the General Election held nine months ago.

But other MPs insisted the two leaders will address the queries about distribution of national positions, and the lack of new projects in the region from theNational Government.

Some of the MPs who attended the meeting said when they got the invitation; they hoped the Deputy President was going to address the issues that one of their own  - Alfred Keter - had raised: the seemingly waning clout of Ruto in the Jubilee administration.

The thinking is that with the appointment of the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, much of the work, and money for the Deputy President’s Office had shifted to State House, meaning that also the power had followed suit.

Local issues

In a conversation with The Standard at Parliament buildings, MPs said Kenyatta and Ruto will meet MPs of the respective counties first to understand the local issues the leaders want addressed and then go and address the electorate in meetings.

Bernard Bett (Bomet East), Paul Bii (Chepalungu) and Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills) all said they were looking forward to the President’s visit to the area to touch base with the voters. They defended the issue of a “homecoming party” being held a full nine months after the General Election, as something which has to happen at this time.

“All the MPs in the area had wanted the President and his deputy at their homecoming parties. We are many. They could not grant every wish, that’s why we decided to have a joint meeting for the North Rift on Monday and another in South Rift on Tuesday,” said Bii.

“A homecoming party is like a wedding; you plan and do it when you can. Nobody can ask you why you did not do your wedding ten years back, or five years ago,” the Chepalungu MP responded when questioned about the timing of the event.

But for Keter and Bett, they expect Kenyatta and Ruto to shed light on their development agenda for the region in their visit.

Bett told The Standard they were aware that as first-time MPs, whenever they raised issues about the Jubilee administration, they were taken to be ‘disloyal’ to Ruto, who is the United Republican Party leader and the de facto king of Rift Valley in Kalenjin politics.

“Our work is oversight, and that includes making sure the distribution of positions in government is done fairly and that not even a single coin of public funds is lost in the implementation of projects,” said Bett.

Bett did not attend the meeting held at the Office of the Deputy President in Nairobi, though he insisted he had been fully briefed on the issues.

Keter and Bett questioned, for example, the on-going multibillion railway project as one, which had not undergone due diligence.

“When we raised that matter, they said we were being disloyal to the Deputy President. We are raising serious issues about the procurement. If what we pointed out was baseless, why then do we have parliamentary committees looking into the matter?” posed Bett. While Keter welcomed the visit of the President, he said the “thank you” messages should not be “the usual political rhetoric”.

“We have hundreds of people in my constituency who were displaced. When we were campaigning, we told them they will never have another Christmas in IDP camps,” said Keter.