A group of Kalenjin professionals and opinion leaders from the South Rift has accused DP William Ruto and his allies of undermining President Uhuru Kenyatta's agenda for Ruto’s 2022 ambitions.
Some said they regretted voting for Ruto as he had brought shame to the Kalenjin nation and had not helped their region.
Through their spokesman Sammy Koech, they urged the DP to stop portraying the Kenyan government as having two centres of power. They said he is using his allies to oppose the administration’s development agenda and the President’s legacy.
“The move by these leaders will not allow the President to continue with his mandate to fulfil the promises he made and leave a legacy that he will be remembered for,” Koech told a press briefing on Bomet on Sunday.
He urged the DP camp to stop early campaigning and said Kenyans want development not rhetoric.
“It is sad that Ruto who is supposed to be leading the government development agenda is the one leading early campaign for next polls.
“Soon after 2017 polls, he started assembling his allies to start discrediting the President and front his own presidential campaigns that at the end of the day will not assist Kenyans,” Koech said.
Kalenjin professional John Lang'at called it shameful the DP and his allies are subverting the President’s agenda for their own 2022 interests.
“Ruto should respect the presidency by stopping sponsoring his allies to undermine the government agenda and oppose the projects meant for Kenyans,” he said.
Lang'at apologised to Kenyans for supporting Ruto for Deputy President in 2013.
He and other members of the elite said backing Ruto was the biggest mistake the community made. Lang'at said they should have supported someone else who would establish good relations with all communities in the country.
“DP Ruto and his allies have brought nothing but shame to the great Kalenjin people. The shame could have been bearable if combined with tangible benefits to the community from the government,” Lang'at said.
The professionals hit out at the DP for making “empty promises” of benefits to the people of the South Rift. To date, they said, they have seen little and some projects are tainted by allegations of corruption.
“It is sad the community has been robbed of their traditional economic activities that were previously beneficial such as maize, pyrethrum, tea and dairy farming – all have collapsed,” Lang'at said.
He welcomed the President’s move to bring on board leaders from other political parties.
“The idea of incorporating Kanu chairman Gideon Moi, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and his CCM counterpart Isaac Rutto will unite the country and end the animosity that exists as a result of other political parties,” he said.
The leaders also dismissed the call by other leaders from Rift Valley to form an alternative party. They said they will not accept a few leaders who want to take the Kalenjin community into the opposition in 2022.
“We are rallying behind the head of state’s agenda and the handshake that brought unity,” Lang'at said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
