President William Ruto is this morning scheduled to meet with leaders of evangelical churches at State House, Nairobi. This is after holding talks with his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta in Ichaweri on Monday in part of a wider push to turn the tide against Kenya Kwanza government.
During the talks, Mr Kenyatta is said to have implored the President to reach out to the disgruntled church leadership and mend fences. The rapprochement is also expected to usher the ex-president’s men into government, with some names, such as former Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui being tipped for plum positions.
Dr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta parted ways ahead of the 2022 elections when the then President chose to back opposition leader Raila Odinga for the top seat. But Dr Ruto humiliated his boss when he emerged victorious.
But away from the public spats between some State functionaries and those in Mr Kenyatta’s office over his retirement benefits, talks were at an advanced stage to reunite the two.
While Mr Kenyatta’s spokesperson Kanze Dena issued a statement on June 10 castigating the government for intimidation and mistreatment, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei met Mr Kenyatta at his Ichaweri home on the same day to “get a full understanding of his grievances”.
Mr Koskei’s visit on that particular day — it turned out — was not the first. President Ruto and Mr Kenyatta, his predecessor, we established, had met several times before, with the Head of State tasking Mr Koskei to personally look into all issues raised by Mr Kenyatta's office.
It was part of an ongoing process to normalise relations between the two politicians who have known each other for more than three decades.
"Unfortunately, we have not been paid for the last two years. I am not able to quantify how much the former president has spent because it includes cost of fuel, staff’s food, travel and electricity bills,” Ms Dena said then.
The reduction of Mr Kenyatta's security detail of 60 police officers was also one of the issues his office complained about.
Although Dr Ruto’s handlers insist that no one brokered the truce, the Nation understands that some powerful businessmen, close family members and religious leaders have not given up their quest to reconcile the two for at least two years.
"President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta have worked together for almost 30 years to promote unity and transform Kenya.
“Even when they have been on different political sides, such as in 2007 and 2022, they have always come together for the good of the nation. At the end of the day, what matters most is Kenya, working together to build a country that everyone believes in, where everyone has a stake and where everyone can participate," State House spokesman Hussein Mohamed told the Nation Tuesday evening.
After months of shadow-boxing, December provided the perfect opportunity for the duo to come out in the open and show that they had buried the hatchet. In this case, everyone stands to gain — it appears.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was in many ways the stumbling block in the reconciliation between the two. He knew that their reunification would certainly jeopardise his claim to be the Mount Kenya supremo since Mr Kenyatta calls the same place home. That's why he is said to have thwarted all attempts to reunite the two.
On the other hand, Mr Kenyatta has never forgiven Mr Gachagua for the “humiliation” he subjected him to — leading the Mountain in a violent palace coup that saw the region defy Mr Kenyatta on his preferred successor ahead of the 2022 elections.
Mr Gachagua's impeachment somewhat smoothed the path to reconciliation, just as it created another monster for Dr Ruto, sources familiar with the process told us.
And now, with the discontent in the Mountain region against Dr Ruto's regime after Mr Gachagua was shown the door, it became urgent for the two to meet.
Politics being what it is, this became a meeting of convenience. For the President, having his predecessor in his corner gives him some leverage, since by consensus, Mr Kenyatta remains the undisputed king of the region.
The President and Mr Kenyatta, we have learnt, have met in Dubai, Mombasa and the United States to lay the groundwork for Monday's public meeting. But it was the meeting in Embu, during the installation of the region's Catholic Bishop Peter Kimani, on November 17, that set the Ichaweri date. In Embu, in what appeared to be a thinly veiled attack on Mr Gachagua, Mr Kenyatta reiterated Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's call for unity among leaders.
And on Tuesday, while speaking when he presided over the closing ceremony of the Pastoral Leadership Summit in Wajir, the President defended his decision to visit Mr Kenyatta.
“Going forward, it is indeed our place as a country to work together to find common ground on things that are of national interest to the Republic of Kenya. That is why I am working with the former Prime Minister, that is why I have reached out to the former president and that is why I will reach out to all other leaders so that we can build a country that we all believe in,” Dr Ruto said.
“It is not an individual programme or personal project but a collective effort. I appreciate that Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o is here to represent the former Prime Minister,” he added.
Prof Nyong’o, who arrived late at the event, jokingly said he was sure he would get a lift in the presidential jet now that “they are on good terms”.
“I am here on behalf of Raila Odinga who is on a mission supported by President Ruto to become AUC chairman. ODM will always stand with pastoralists and marginalised people,” he said.
