Ruto and Raila now go flat out to contest top seat which either cannot afford to lose

Deputy President William Ruto addressing Salgaa residents at the trading center on November 2, 2019. [Kennedy Gachuhi, Standard]

Political master tacticians, grassroots mobilisers and hitherto political bedfellows turned bitter rivals, Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga are preparing for a titanic battle in next year's General Election, with increased forays across key battlegrounds.

Since the 1990s, Ruto and Raila have played in alternate political teams save for an interlude between 2005 and 2009 before a fall-out separated the two larger-than-life politicians.