President William Ruto and Kanu Party Leader, Gideon Moi during a meeting with Baringo locals at Kabarak Home in Nakuru County on October 10, 2025.
President William Ruto has pulled off a fresh political masterstroke, bringing Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi, a long-time political rival, into the broad-based government and acknowledging consultations with his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.
In a move expected to trigger a reorganisation of his broad-based government, President Ruto on Friday announced that Mr Moi would join his administration, which has incorporated ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Speaking at Mr Moi’s Kabarak farm in Nakuru County where he addressed hundreds of Kanu supporters, the president revealed that he had held talks with Mr Odinga, former president Uhuru Kenyatta, and now Mr Moi “to rally leaders across the political divide in a bid to move the country forward”.
Dr Ruto’s acknowledgment that he has held talks with Mr Odinga, Mr Moi and Mr Kenyatta represents a convergence of Kenya’s three main political “dynasties”—the Kenyattas, Mois and Odingas.
“This is a national project,” Dr Ruto declared. “We must pull together as a team to move Kenya to the next level.”
He explained that he had chosen Kabarak—and not State House Nakuru or Nairobi—as the venue for the public announcement to symbolise reconciliation.
“After the Kabarnet anger, I told him the best place to make our announcement to the public was here at Kabarak,” Dr Ruto said, referring to the tensions in Kabarnet following Mr Moi’s withdrawal from the November 27 senatorial by-election.
“If there’s anyone to blame for Gideon’s change of heart, it is me, not him,” he quipped. “We are broadening the broad-based government by including Kanu.”
The President added that beyond politics, his discussions with Mr Moi also touched on “the future”, though he did not elaborate.
‘Not about parochialism’
“This is not about individuals, personalities, this is not about parochialism, corners or regions. It is about Kenya. Development in Kenya is late. We are not supposed to be a Third World country. I need more hands and that is why I formed the broad-based government. And now I need Gideon to help me move the country forward,” he said.
In response, Mr Moi, without getting into details of his pact, lauded the President and declared that unity in Baringo was “crucial for achieving meaningful development”.
Party Leader Gideon Moi makes his address on October 10, 2025 after President William Ruto visited Kabarak Home in Nakuru County.
The handshake-style reunion between Dr Ruto and Mr Moi carries echoes of the 2018 Raila-Uhuru truce, which altered Kenya’s political landscape. But this time, the stakes are even higher, with less than two years to the 2027 elections.
National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, Mr Odinga’s ally, told Saturday Nation that the broad-based arrangement was now expanding, adding that more revelations that will shock the nation will soon come to light.
“More people are joining, and more are expected,” Mr Mohamed said. “The whole idea is to unite the country, so anybody who comes on board is welcome.”
“There are a lot of night meetings going on. Some of the people claiming to be in the united opposition, very soon, they’ll find themselves in the broad-based government,” he said.
Former Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat said he had been vindicated after joining President Ruto’s camp.
President Ruto’s government now enjoys a broader base in Parliament. Since Mr Odinga joined the government, a majority of ODM MPs now back government-sponsored Bills.
In return, some of Mr Odinga’s allies have benefited through appointments to the Cabinet and diplomatic, parastatal and regional development roles.
It remains unclear which role Mr Moi will play in the broad-based government, or whether his allies will be brought on board. Insiders say he’s been asked to decide whether he wants to join the Cabinet or recommend one or two individuals of his choice.
This means another reshuffle is in the offing, with anxiety already gripping sections of the Cabinet.
“At the moment, it’s very difficult for the President to create additional ministries against the law. What could happen if Gideon or any of his allies is to be brought in the Cabinet is that some people must be dropped,” a source at State House said.
President William Ruto and Kanu Party Leader, Gideon Moi and other leaders arrive at Kabarak Home in Nakuru County on October 10, 2025.
When Mr Kenyatta hosted Dr Ruto at his Ichaweri home in Gatundu, Kiambu County in December last year, his perceived allies—Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture), Lee Kinyanjui (Trade) and William Kabogo (ICT)—were incorporated in the Cabinet.
Mr Odinga’s allies, Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), John Mbadi (National Treasury), Hassan Joho (Mining), Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives) and Beatrice Askul (EAC) were appointed earlier following the ODM leader’s truce with the President.
President Ruto’s public pronouncement of consultations with Mr Kenyatta, Mr Odinga and now Mr Moi did not come as a surprise.
At the height of anti-Finance Bill protests last year, Mr Odinga revealed that it was the former president who asked him to reach out to President Ruto to help calm the nation. Mr Kenyatta has never publicly denied the claim.
Insiders in Mr Moi’s camp disclosed that his entry into the broad-based government formalises months of discreet negotiations between the president and key figures in Kanu.
The party, though diminished in influence since it was kicked out of power in the 2002 elections, still commands symbolic weight, especially in the Rift Valley.
Its entry in the broad-based government gives President Ruto a firm grip of the region.
The Ruto-Moi rivalry traces back to 1997 when their relationship started to sour as Ruto defied President Daniel Moi’s wishes to step down for Mr William Chesire in the race for Eldoret North MP. By the 2013 and 2017 elections, the rivalry had deepened, with Gideon emerging as Ruto’s chief rival in Rift Valley.
President William Ruto makes his speech during a meeting with Baringo locals and Kanu Party Leader Gideon Moi at Kabarak Home in Nakuru County on October 10, 2025.
In 2018, the bad blood was laid bare when Ruto was blocked from visiting the ailing former president at Kabarak. That dramatic standoff entrenched divisions between the Ruto and Moi camps and shaped the political narrative of the 2022 election.
Yesterday, Dr Ruto and Mr Moi stood side by side, signalling an end to years of hostility.
President William Ruto at Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi's Kabarak home on October 10, 2025.
To many, that imagery of reconciliation at Kabarak was pure political theatre, crafted to disarm rivals and reframe Ruto’s leadership as magnanimous and nationalistic.
Prof Gitile Naituli of Multimedia University of Kenya said that by bringing Mr Moi to his fold, President Ruto has “acquired a dynastic trophy”.
“But ... trophies don’t vote, they don’t mobilise, and don’t inspire the next generation. Power that is borrowed never lasts, and silence that is purchased soon grows costly,” Prof Naituli quipped.
Tough balancing act
Analysts argue that Dr Ruto faces a tough balancing act: he must integrate new allies without alienating his original associates.
Mr Kenyatta’s re-emergence in the equation adds a fascinating twist. Although officially retired, the former president retains influence among segments of the political elite and business community.
His reported role in encouraging Mr Odinga to reach out to Dr Ruto after the 2024 protests however, sends mixed signals as he recently criticised the Ruto administration. He is also believed to be fronting his former Interior CS, Dr Fred Matiang’i, against Dr Ruto in 2027.
While the former President has not publicly confirmed active involvement, Dr Ruto’s reference to having held talks with him hints at a behind-the-scenes détente between two men.
On Thursday, in a dramatic turn of events, Mr Moi dropped out of the Baringo senator race in favour of the UDA candidate.
Mr Moi is said to have agreed to drop out of the race in exchange for protection of the family’s business empire.
“His [Moi’s] requests were in terms of his businesses. You know, his businesses have been doing badly in the last three years,” said a State House official source.
Despite the fanfare in Kabarak, a cloud of disappointment and frustration hung over some Moi loyalists and party officials.
Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda, in an unusually candid message addressed directly to Mr Moi, accused the party leader of letting down his supporters by failing to communicate his decision in good time.
“The choice to run or not to run for the Baringo Senatorial seat is purely your personal decision. But my only concern—and that of many who have believed in you and the party—is your choice not to give direction and not to communicate on time. We feel not listened to, not heard or felt,”she wrote on social media
