The rivalry between Deputy President William Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi led to the cancellation of Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter’s homecoming prayer rally, the Star has learnt.
Keter cancelled the Friday rally at the eleventh hour over concerns it would be exploited to cause further divisions between Ruto and Moi.
Keter did not give reasons for the decision, but 16 Jubilee MPs who had confirmed attendance said he had called to inform them of the postponement.
Read :
Sources said Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny asked that the rally be put off amid reports that Moi was to attend the meeting at Koitalel Samoei Museum in Nandi Hills.
POLITICAL AGENDA
The Star established that Kutuny told a meeting between Keter and his close allies that they would lose direction if they allowed the meeting to be used by Ruto’s rivals for their own political benefit.
Kutuny said the MPs’ intention was to have Keter released and not to pursue a different political agenda.
Ruto and Gideon are competing for the control of Rift Valley politics ahead of the 2022 General Election. Both have declared interest in vying for the presidency.
Ruto is today [Saturday] expected to preside over a fundraising drive in Sirisia before touring security-troubled Mt Elgon constituency in Bungoma.
“We have to go into the 2022 election as a united team behind the DP and that is why we have asked Gideon to shelve his ambition and join the Ruto camp,” Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, a close ally of Keter, told the Star.
Keter and his allies were expected to address supporters in Eldoret town after the Nandi Hills rally on Friday.
Keter was last week arrested alongside businessmen Arthur Sakwa and Madat Chatur for allegedly trying to redeem fake Sh633 million Treasury Bills.
They denied charges of conspiring to defraud the Centra Bank of Kenya and were released on Sh2 million cash bail each. Keter insists he is innocent and that he is being fixed because of his political stand.
“No matter what happens, I will not be scared. I will always stand for the truth,” Keter told the Star on
the phone.
UHURU LEGACY
Keter is seen as the leader of Jubilee rebel MPs, but he disagrees. “I’m not leading any camp. I will work with like-minded friends to fight for truth and justice,” he said.
Last week, Kuttuny issued a hard-hitting statement over Keter’s arrest, warning President Uhuru Kenyatta that his legacy would be dented if State agencies continued to disrespect the rule of law. Moi was among the protesting MPs.
They condemned Keter’s arrest, saying it was an attempt to intimidate and silence the legislator. “Our support for the DP is steadfast and non-negotiable. But we stand for the truth and tell it as it is so that some people with shady schemes do not joke around with sensitive issues,” Kuttuny told the Star on Friday.
Also read :
The rift festered last month after Keter, Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen and Silas Tiren (Moiben) ignored Ruto’s order to surrender parliamentary committee positions to members from other regions under a power-sharing plan.
They were eventually stripped of the positions after Jubilee Party directed its MPs to pass votes of no confidence against the leaders.