• Sudi claims rebel MPs are being used to paint DP Ruto as unqualified, citing maize scandal.
• Tiren and Kuttuny say they will not be cowed from speaking for the rights of farmers and other Kenyans.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Allies of William Ruto have accused rebel MPs led by Joshua Kutuny and Alfred Keter of betraying the Deputy President's 2022 presidential ambitions.
More than 10 MPs allied to Ruto said their colleagues have teamed up with those opposed to the DP, causing unnecessary splits in his Rift Valley backyard.
“They have joined forces with the DP’s detractors to create the impression that he (Ruto) has failed to deal with issues like the problems in the maize sector which is not true,” Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi said.
Sudi said the rebel MPs were determined to undercut Ruto ahead of 2022 but warned the community would not be misled by self-seeking traitors.
“They think they will use the problems in the agriculture sector to undermine Ruto in this region. That will not work because we all know the truth,” he said.
The lawmaker named MPs Silas Tiren (Moiben), Kutuny (Cherengany) and Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills) as the biggest enemies of the Kalenjin community.
The Ruto allies were speaking during the burial of Johana Kinyor Kirwa, the elder brother of Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago at Kuinet village on Saturday.
Sudi was backed by MPs Caleb Kositany (Soy), William Chepkut (Ainabkoi), Janet Sitienei (Turbo), Julius Melly (Tinderet), Cornell Serem (Aldai) and Sylvanus Maritim (Ainamoi).
Didmus Barasa (Kimilili), Gideon Koske (Chepalungu), Daniel Rono (Keiyo South), Sila Tiren (Moiben), Gladys Shollei (Uasin Gishu) and Nandi Governor Stephen Sang were present.
Kositany said the rebel MPs should use Parliament to fight for the rights of farmers and not take advantage of their plight for political mileage.
“Our own colleagues from this region have turned the troubled maize sector into a campaign tool to tarnish the image of the DP,” Kositany said.
The MP said he had tabled two bills in Parliament on the National Cereals and Produce Board and New KCC that are aimed at addressing the challenges facing farmers.
Melly said the DP’s opponents would face the wrath of voters at the right time for going against the community.
But in response, Kuttuny and Tiren said they would not be scared from fighting for the rights of farmers and residents of the region and other parts of the country.
Tiren accused the MPs allied to Ruto of neglecting the real issues affecting residents and concentrating on 2022 politics.
“When we try to talk about the plight facing our farmers in Rift Valley, we are labelled rebels or traitors. That will not cow us at all. We will continue to speak the truth,” Tiren said.
Kuttuny, who was not at the funeral, told the Star that cheap politics would not erase the reality in the region.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)