Ruto now focuses on counties as State House race intensifies

 Deputy President William Ruto has identified county assemblies as the next phase of his bid for State House and opposition to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) – the brainchild of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga.

After the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) gave the BBI the greenlight following the verification of signatures last week, the push to amend the Constitution will now be won or lost in the county assemblies.

Not to lose an opportunity, the fight for the Mt Kenya political soul between the President an his deputy is also going a notch higher.

Having chosen to go directly to the people without waiting for Mr Kenyatta’s blessings, Dr Ruto is banking on the support of the vote basket to become the president next year.

While those allied to Dr Ruto maintain that Mt Kenya ground is theirs to lose ahead of the election, members of the President’s team insist that it is too early to be sure about the support as they are rolling out a counter strategy.

President Kenyatta’s inner circle is said to be planning a meeting to address the apparent disquiet in the region mid this week.

Dr Ruto has in the recent past been receiving delegations from county assemblies, with eyes trained on the BBI bill, which must be supported by at least 24 counties before it can be subjected to a referendum.

Political game

The DP met 38 ward representatives from Mandera at official residence in Karen on Friday where the BBI and the 2022 political game plan were discussed.

The group was led by Assembly Deputy Speaker Farah Abdi Abdinoor.

But the Sunday Nation has learnt that Jubilee Party’s political adviser Nancy Gitau has been hard at work, coordinating with governors to ensure Mt Kenya remain loyal to the President and the March 9, 2016 handshake between him and Mr Odinga.

Ms Gitau’s team has Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia as its chairman.

Coming at a time the region has been portrayed by Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata as being against the BBI, the two sides are coming out to fight for the ultimate prize.

A meeting of an estimated 100 ward representatives from Kiambu, Murang’a, Kajiado, Machakos and Embu counties in Thika yesterday declared “a total lockdown for pushers of the ‘dynasty’ narrative in Mt Kenya”.

Mr Johnson Muthama, the chairman of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) – the new political party associated with Dr Ruto – said the presence of Machakos ward representatives at the forum was a deliberate and intended to make a statement that “the Hustler Movement” is going national.

But Education Chief Administrative Secretary Zack Kinuthia and former Maragua MP Elias Mbau dismissed the meeting and its resolutions.

“These people have shown that their agenda is not the welfare of Mt Kenya but a well thought-out plan being executed to demean the President and make him a subject of ridicule,” Mr Kinuthia said.

Mr Mbau said he does not want to reveal too much of the group’s plan.

“The ‘Hustler Nation’ is just a structure built on a flood path. Take that to the bank.” the former lawmaker said.

Mr Kinuthia said the President would unleash a fight back plan next week.

“There will be a meeting at Sagana State Lodge to draw up a strategy of winning support for BBI, the Big Four Agenda and the the start of a new political order in the region that will leave Dr Ruto and his allies torpedoed,” he said.

“We are getting impatient with the way Dr Ruto and his allies continue to defy our collectiveness in charting a united front when pushing the government agenda. He has instead transformed himself into a bitter rival of the President, the ruling party and the set order of the government.”

Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi told the Sunday Nation that they are “getting out of the woods and we are going to bring our best brains for the contest”.

“Dr Ruto has begged for a political contest and he has proceeded to draw the battle lines so well that we know where we stand,” he said.

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