As Kanu wanes, UDA gains in battle for the Rift Valley
Deputy President William Ruto and former minister Musa Sirma during a past event in Baringo.
Senator Gideon Moi’s Kanu is a party under siege in the restive Rift Valley electoral battleground.
As the independence party’s political fortunes seem to dwindle, those of Deputy President William Ruto, with whom Mr Moi is locked in a tough duel for voters’ hearts and minds, seem to be on the rise.
Former President Daniel arap Moi’s scion is fast losing allies in the battle to control the vote-rich region that pits him against the DP, with the latest to leave being former East African Community minister Musa Sirma, who has decamped to the Ruto-linked United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Announcing his move on Sunday during a fundraiser at Africa Inland Church Arama, Eldama Ravine Sub-county, the former Eldama Ravine MP claimed he had bowed to pressure from residents. Mr Sirma said he would announce which political seat he would vie for within a week.
‘Voice of the people’
“I’ll listen to the voice of the people,” he said. The Ruto critic-turned-ally was a vocal proponent of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) spearheaded by President Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga. He often accompanied Senator Moi during BBI campaigns in the Rift Valley.
Mr Sirma won the 2002 Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat on a Kanu ticket after trouncing Senator Moi’s brother Jonathan Moi, in the party primaries. Jonathan Moi has since died.
The former EAC minister unsuccessfully vied for the seat in 2017 on a Jubilee Party ticket but lost in the primaries to Mr Moses Lessonet. He had to rejoin Kanu.
Before falling out with the DP, Mr Sirma led 14 MPs in 2006 who converged at Koibatek and declared their support for Mr Ruto in the 2007 elections. He was behind the Eldama Ravine declaration that propelled Ruto from a little-known Eldoret North MP to Kalenjin spokesman.
The development only adds to Senator Moi’s piling political woes following the departure of Baringo South MP Charles Kamuren who joined Jubilee.
In the Baringo South by-election in August 2018, the DP tightened his grip of the region after a candidate he plucked from Kanu won the closely contested poll on a Jubilee ticket. The seat fell vacant after Grace Kipchoim succumbed to colon cancer.
Mr Kamuren, a former Baringo Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) executive secretary, was declared winner after trouncing his closest rival, Ms Cynthia Kipchilat of Maendeleo Chap Chap, with 12,277 votes against her 8,968 votes.
Though Kanu did not field a candidate for the mini poll then, analysts saw the win as a big victory for the DP against Mr Moi.
“[The] win [shows] that the DP still wields a lot of authority in Rift Valley politics,” Mr Billy Yatich, a political commentator said.
During his tour of the region at the time, the DP welcomed more than 10 politicians from other parties who defected to Jubilee.
The rivalry between the two also came to a head in February when 30 Baringo MCAs overwhelmingly voted to shoot down the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020, ostensibly to punish Mr Moi, whom they accused of being an absentee leader.
This comes amid a heated debate over the region’s political future, with leaders torn between the DP and Mr Moi.
During the recent wedding of North Rift Region Economic Bloc Coordinator Joseph Makilap in Maregut Baringo North Sub-county, a section of leaders insisted on unity of the Kalenjin community ahead of the 2022 polls.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, and his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Alex Tolgos, warned that political divisions would consign the community to the political cold after 2022.
Mr Tolgos said the region could not afford to be in the opposition and fronted Mr Moi for President in 2022.
The county boss, who is also a close ally of the Kanu chairman, urged leaders from Rift Valley to read from the same script.
Can’t be in the opposition
“As Kalenjins, we must lead the government in 2022 — be it through [Dr Ruto] or Mr Moi as President. We can’t be in the opposition,” he said.
“What is wrong with backing Senator Moi for one term then rallying behind the DP for the next? Our ultimate goal is for this community to take the top seat, and that can only happen if we unite,” he added.
His remarks angered Mr Mandago, who insisted that Dr Ruto stands a better chance of winning the seat.
“I’m begging Senator Moi to avoid creating diversions when the entire community has already settled on a particular direction,” said Governor Mandago.
He urged the senator to shelve his presidential ambitions and rally behind the DP.
Not eyeing the seat
“I wanted to hear a declaration from him that he is actually vying for the top seat in the General Election as purported, but I’m yet to. If he’s not eyeing the seat, then why shouldn’t he support his brother Ruto?” he posed.
Mr Moi, who also attended the ceremony, gave the debate a wide berth, only saying he was still focused on delivering on his mandate to the people.
Mr Moi has joined party leaders Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Democratic Movement) and Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) to form the One Kenya Alliance.
