Senator tells Ruto to stop early campaign for 2022 polls bid

Nominated Senator Paul Njoroge

Deputy President William Ruto has been accused of using his support for President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election to blackmail Mt Kenya for his 2022 bid.

Nominated Senator Paul Njoroge claimed the electorate would not be bulldozed to support Ruto, but would throw their weight behind a presidential candidate of their choice.

The Jubilee senator said "such promises have never been honoured in the past".

"Politicians, led by our Deputy President William Ruto, should desist from early campaigns for 2022 before we are even done with 2017," he said yesterday at a press conference in Nairobi.

The TNA-nominated senator added, "He should stop putting the Kikuyu in an awkward position by blackmailing the community for 2017 with 2022 elections."

He said Ruto should be grateful for the DP position because it is "equally competitive" and many Kenyans would love to hold it.