President William Ruto and Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi.
President William Ruto has launched behind-the-scenes negotiations to have Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi shelve his Baringo senatorial bid in the upcoming November 27 by-election.
The two politicians on Wednesday held a surprise State House meeting that has since stirred debate over possible attempts for a political truce for the politicians who, for a long time, have been embroiled in a regional supremacy battle.
Nation has gathered that the upcoming Baringo Senate seat race took centre stage in the talks by the two leaders, with the meeting happening barely a week after Mr Moi declared his interest to run for the seat.
Moi’s family business empire – said not to be doing so well under President Ruto’s administration – was also a topic of discussion during the meeting.
Multiple sources within Kanu told Nation that Mr Moi declined the Head of State’s request to step down in favour of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Vincent Chemitei, despite a personal appeal made at State House.
State House officials, who spoke off the record, however, said that Mr Moi had, in the talks, agreed to drop out of the race. Mr Moi is said to have asked for time to engage with other party officials before officially dropping out.
“He has agreed to drop from the Baringo race,” said the official.
But according to a Kanu official familiar with the deliberations, President Ruto invited Mr Moi for the State House meeting where the two leaders held candid talks about the upcoming contest and other national issues.
The former senator was accompanied by Kanu Secretary-General George Wainaina and former Baringo Woman Representative Gladwell Cheruiyot.
“Yes, Chairman was at State House together with Wainaina and Gladwell following the President’s invitation,” the official told Nation. “The Head of State was of the opinion that he steps down from the Baringo senatorial race for the UDA candidate and consider his candidacy in 2027. But the Chairman politely declined.”
The meeting marked the second known face-to-face interaction between President Ruto and Mr Moi since the 2022 General Election.
President William Ruto and Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi.
“This was like a second meeting,” the source added. “The two leaders had once met in Dubai as Chairman (Moi) was travelling from the US but had never met again until now.”
Sources indicate that President Ruto’s overture was motivated by growing anxiety within the ruling coalition over the potential political backlash should UDA lose the Baringo by-election.
Mr Moi neither picked up our calls nor answered a text message sent to his known line. This showed the delicate nature of ongoing negotiations.
Insiders said the fact that Mr Moi agreed to go to the State House after years of grandstanding was in itself enough reason to show how advanced the negotiations had moved.
Baringo, a county in the heart of the Rift Valley, is widely viewed as a political barometer of the President’s influence in his home region against Mr Moi.
The two leaders have for a long time been in a protracted supremacy battle for the control of the vote-rich Rift Valley, before Mr Moi was completely decimated in the 2022 General Election when his Kanu lost almost all seats in the region to Dr Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Kanu only retained the Tiaty parliamentary seat, which was won by William Kamket, who has since become a close ally of President Ruto. Mr Kamket, on Wednesday, told Nation he was not aware of the meeting.
Political analysts feel that the President fears a backlash if UDA fails to retain the seat, as “it would embolden critics and the united opposition led by former deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his allies more ammunition to question the President’s control of his own backyard.”
The by-election follows the death of UDA’s William Cheptumo, who won the Baringo senatorial seat in 2022.
In that race, Mr Cheptumo garnered 141,177 votes (65.38 percent), trouncing Mr Moi, who managed 71,480 votes (33.11 percent). Felix Chelaite, running as an independent, finished a distant third with 3,261 votes (1.51 percent).
Kanu chairman Gideon Moi.
While Mr Moi has largely kept a low profile since his 2022 defeat, his decision to mount a fresh bid has stirred the political waters in Baringo and beyond. He’s said to be keen to exploit a perceived public disaffection on the ground against the government of Dr Ruto arising from the manner the disarmament has been carried out in the region, with some communities feeling disadvantaged.
Kanu insiders say his return is intended to reclaim the party’s historical space in Rift Valley politics and reassert its presence nationally.
“Chairman feels it is time to rebuild Kanu from the grassroots,” a senior party official said. “He believes that contesting and winning in Baringo will send a message that Kanu is still alive and that the Moi legacy endures.”
The race also carries symbolic weight. Baringo is not just Mr Moi’s political base—it is the birthplace of his late father, former President Daniel arap Moi, whose name remains etched in the county’s political history.
The younger Moi’s entry, therefore, transforms the by-election into a test of generational influence between the old Kanu establishment and the UDA juggernaut led by President Ruto.
Political observers argue that the outcome will have national implications.
President William Ruto with Gideon Moi at Kabarnet Gardens in Nairobi following the death of former President Daniel Arap Moi.
“If Moi performs strongly, it will expose vulnerabilities within UDA ahead of 2027,” says political analyst Dismas Mokua.
“But if he loses by a big margin, it could mark the end of Kanu’s revival hopes and further cement Ruto’s dominance in the Rift Valley.”
Despite pressure from within and outside Kanu to compromise, Mr Moi is said to be determined to stay the course. Party officials insist the former senator has already hit the ground running, holding strategy meetings and grassroots consultations.
The Baringo race has therefore turned into a referendum on loyalty and legacy—pitting President Ruto’s political machinery against a scion of Kenya’s most enduring political dynasty.
As campaigns gather pace, both camps are expected to deploy heavyweights to the county.
“For Ruto, retaining Baringo is about preserving the symbolism of unity and control in his home region. For Moi, it is about redemption—and reclaiming a lost political throne,” says advocate Chris Omore.
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