Gotaab Myot, The Kalenjin Council of Elders, wants Deputy President William Ruto to appear before them over his sentiments last week that some of the community’s leaders are praying for his imprisonment at The Hague-based International Criminal Court for his alleged role in the 2007-08 post-election violence.
If he fails to honour the elders’ summons, another Kalenjin leader will be anointed. That is for sure - and this is not good for the DP who is training his eyes for 2022 general elections hoping against hope that Uhuru Kenyatta keeps his word and supports his presidency.
Last week, the DP shocked friend and foe at a gathering in Ziwa in Uasin Gishu county when he accused Baringo Senator Gideon Moi , Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s political advisor Joshua Kuttuny of praying for his incarceration by ICC so that they can take over the leadership of Rift Valley.
When the shock was finally over, political players in Rift Valley found their tongues and started to respond to Ruto’s sentiments.
Myot Council of Elders, is a crucial component of Kalenjin politics. They can make or break a politician if they feel he/she is leading the community astray.
Ruto has not responded to the summons but one assumes he is weighing his options because these elders take their work seriously and will, for sure, anoint another leader if the DP dilly-dallies in meeting them to explain what he meant exactly when he named the three politicians.
Observers argue that if Ruto cares for his future political survival, he should take this chance and present himself before the elders to be grilled. He should also apologise.
His careless utterances will be his undoing and this does not augur well for him. He is an ambitious man but with his poisonous words, he can bid his dreams for the presidency goodbye in 2022.
As the elders asked for an apology, Ruto’s and Kuttuny’s supporters were engaging in a fight in Cherangany over thefireworks the DP’s words had ignited.
Seeds of discontent are already germinating. Youth allied to Ruto demonstrated as they castigated Kuttuny for trying to scuttle the political ambitions of the DP.
As soon as the youth who were ferried from Eldoret in a lorry and two buses by an Eldoret businessman, Kuttuny supporters were spoiling for a fight. They made minced meat of each other.
The DP’s supporters were clobbered and forced to retreat to another venue where they continued with their protest undisturbed.
Baringo voters had a fight with Ruto but on a different platform: they descended on Facebook telling the DP to stop undermining their elected leaders.
Governor Rutto has reiterated that he is ready to work with the DP. Senator Moi is of the same opinion. Kuttuny has been mum but do not mistake his silence for cowardice.
His position as the President’s political advisor gives him little space to respond to Ruto’s allegations. He doesn’t want to ruffle feathers from the House on the hill where he is based.
For sure, the DP crossed the red line by uttering the words knowing very well the politicians he is castigating are political heavy weights in their own right even if they don’t hold an office like his.
But why would the DP read too much into the trio’s alliance? Is he becoming more naïve?
His myopic approach to issues will only serve to alienate him in the countdown to 2017 elections. Gideon could be the Senator of Baringo but he has supporters all over Rift Valley.
The Kanu rallies Gideon has been holding throughout the region since March, are a pointer that he has a following and things will not be the same for DP in 2017.
The political tectonic plates are shifting under the DP’s feet and very likely, the Kalenjins will not be voting as a bloc in the next general elections.
Last Saturday’s clash between the DP’s supporters and those of Kuttuny is another pointer that, the former Cherangany MP also has his supporters.
The political landscape in Kalenjin-speaking Rift Valley is very fluid. Ruto should be using every available opportunity to win support from Moi’s son and company. He should be mending fences not erecting walls and burning bridges.
By crying foul and getting emotional about his perceived political foes, the DP is only herding himself into a strange world teeming with nothing but political feather weights.
His right-hand men in Rift Valley are political greenhorns who cannot guarantee him any meaningful political support however youthful they look.
By attacking Gideon and others who are busy pursuing their own political ambitions, Ruto is saying he is the undisputed king of the Kalenjin. It is true, he took the mantle from Mzee Moi as Kalenjin leader and spokesperson in 2002, but these crowns will not hold long if his kind of politics is anything to go by.
No one is gloating over Ruto's Hague tribulations. As a son of the soil, Kalenjins are not happy that he is still fighting for his innocence with former radio journalist Joshua arap Sang’.
Contrary to this, it is the prayer of the Kalenjin nation that he be released as soon as possible since it is everybody’s knowledge that the clashes that hit Rift Valley in 2007 were not planned. They happened at the spur of the moment after the bungled elections and hurried swearing in of President Mwai Kibaki at dusk on State House manicured grounds.
It is true, Gideon, Moi’s favourite son, is eyeing a national office. Like Uhuru, he is a royal and naturally, he would like to one day inherit his father’s political throne but not by burning the midnight oil praying and fasting for Ruto’s downfall.
In Kalenjin culture, it is taboo to wish for another person‘s downfall even if he or she wronged you.
But Ruto thinks otherwise.
He is glowering. Each time he addresses a gathering he foams in the corners of his mouth. He is averse to dialogue, bossy and suspicious of anybody who does not toe his line.
A case in point is the manner in which he has been trying to ‘arm twist ‘ the political environments in some of the counties in Rift Valley.
His divide and rule tactics can boomerang on him and will snuff out the life of his political ambitions if he does not tread carefully.
The DP wants to survive to enjoy the sanctums of power but he cannot realize this by summoning Bomet MCAs for the umpteenth time and ordering them to impeach the outspoken Governor because he doesn’t like him.
Governor Paul Chepkwony of Kericho and his Nandi counterpart Cleophas Langat almost lost their seats last year thanks to what Mzee Moi was won’t to say, “siasa za pesa nane”. The two governors have since taken a low profile.
It should not be lost that, it was Isaac Rutto who strongly and successfully sold Ruto’s political agenda in Rift Valley in the run-up to 2013 controversial elections. The DP should not be pointing a finger at his namesake; he should instead be seeking to win him over.
But then again, Gideon and Rutto can comfortably win the support of many voters in Rift Valley without wishing ill on Ruto. The DP doesn’t need anyone to pray for his political demise because he is his own worst enemy.