Gideon faults leaders riding on tribal card to seal deals

By Edwin Makiche

Kanu national chairman Gideon Moi has said coalition talks with like-minded parties were at an advanced stage and the party would decide which presidential candidate to back soon.

Speaking at Ndanai Primary School in Bomet County, Moi hit out at leaders who were using their tribal numbers to bargain for power saying they were bound to fail.

“Kanu is a national party and would remain like that forever, all our coalition discussions are based on the premise that all the 42 tribes should be brought on board,” he said.

Gideon accused Eldoret North MP and URP presidential candidate William Ruto of short-changing the Kalenjin by entering into a pre-election deal with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA.

He said that despite having the support and blessings of the community, Ruto shepherded them to Uhuru’s camp without consulting them.

He said Kanu had shelved its initial plans to join hands with URP since Ruto was no longer interested in the top job.

In the URP-TNA deal, the Eldoret North MP will be Uhuru’s running mate.

“We are no longer interested in forming a coalition with URP since our support was dependent on the condition that he (Ruto) runs for the presidency,” he said.

The party’s secretary general Nick Salat said Ruto’s alliance with Uhuru did not reflect the expectations of the Kalenjin.