Deputy President William Ruto is taming the resurgence of his political nemesis, Gideon Moi, in the vote-rich Rift Valley before next year’s General Election by raiding his party for members.
The DP has been bagging key allies of the Baringo senator, a move that has led to the dwindling influence of Independence party Kanu in the region, whose politics it had dominated for decades.
For the past 10 years, the DP has run the show in the region, pushing Mr Moi, the Kanu chairman, to the periphery, but recent political changes nationally spearheaded by President Uhuru Kenyatta have elevated the senator and given him more influence in regional politics.
A major battle pitting the two prominent Kalenjin leaders is fast shaping up, with each seeking to exploit the other's weak points to score points as they eye control of the millions of votes in the vast region.
In the latest move, Dr Ruto has raided Mr Moi’s camp and bagged former East African Community Minister Musa Sirma, who has been a key ally of the senator.
The Nation established that Mr Sirma, who is likely eyeing the Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat in next year’s election, ditched Kanu last month, only to be paraded yesterday after meeting the DP at his Karen home in Nairobi in the company of Soy MP Caleb Kositany.
“Today morning, I had a meeting with DP Ruto and we discussed matters of national unity and current affairs in the political arena,” Mr Sirma said yesterday after the meeting.
In 2013, Mr Sirma ditched ODM to join Dr Ruto's United Republican Party (URP) hoping to wrest the Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat from current MP Moses Lessonet. Last year, he decamped to Kanu.
From the region, Mr Moi is now left with Senate Majority Leader Samuel Poghisio (West Pokot), William Kamket (Tiaty), Gladwell Cheruiyot (Baringo), William Chepkut (Ainabkoi), Silas Tiren (Moiben), Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos and Kanu’s Secretary General Nick Salat.
Mr Salat told the Nation that Mr Moi’s allies were not worried by the defection, arguing that they will soldier on with individuals who believe in transforming the politics of the region.
He accused those ditching Kanu of pursuing their personal interests at the expense of the well-being of the community.
“We are aware of all these. It takes a lot to believe in a cause you are in. Some people want an easy ride, hence they think that by associating with the DP, that is an easy ride in capturing elective posts,” Mr Salat said.
According to Mr Salat, the defections will happen for a short period of time before the region realises that Dr Ruto has nothing substantial for them.
“As a party, we are very keen on coming out and establishing true leadership, which has been lacking in the Kalenjin land. Leadership that is people-oriented not personality cult, like what it is right now. Those who are looking for an easy way to dupe electorates are contributing to mediocre leadership in the entire Rift Valley,” said Mr Salat.
Moi introduced Mr Kosgey to politics with the aim of sending fierce Kanu government critic Jean Marie Seroney into political oblivion.
“It is Mzee who advised me to join politics in 1979. Without him, I would not have ventured into active politics in which I defeated Jean Marie Seroney,” said Mr Kosgey when President Moi died.
“At the moment, there is something which concerns us as a community ahead of 2022. We are lucky to have a youth who would want to be a president. When you will be voting, start with Ruto as the president,” he declared in early June at Lessos, Nandi County.
Mr Kosgey’s sons Alex Kosgey (Emgwen MP) and Allan Kosgey have also publicly thrown their support behind the ‘Hustler Nation’.
The MP is set to defend his seat on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), which is linked to the DP, while his brother is eyeing the UDA ticket to battle it out with Governor Stephen Sang and Senator Samson Cherargei for the gubernatorial seat.
“After voting for Ruto as president come 2022, these other leaders, choose someone with integrity so as to benefit from devolution,” said the former minister.
In West Pokot, seen as Kanu’s last frontier, Lomut MCA Jacob Toung’ole, who was elected on a Kanu ticket, said: “The fate of Gideon Moi’s political ambition will depend on how he will carry himself. Kanu is down and if they don’t wake up, they will find themselves in an awkward situation.”
Weiwei Mr David Kapelisiwa, also a Kanu MCA, said he was compelled to shift loyalty to the DP by voters with the hope of being re-elected next year.
“As we head to the 2022 General Election … you find those who were in Kanu and now in UDA and vice versa. I was elected on a Kanu ticket, but if Gideon Moi is also fighting to have a say in One Kenya Alliance (OKA), why should I remain in that party?” he asked.
