•Tuju says he will not engage Ruto, his focus on Uhuru's legacy projects.
•The SG is a known family friend to the First Family and attacks on Tuju said to be attacks on Uhuru.
Image: DPPS
Deputy President William Ruto has opened a new battlefront with one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s closest allies, believed to be a major obstacle to his complete takeover of the Jubilee Party.
In a sarcastic tweet on Sunday, Ruto launched a scathing attack on Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju, revealing the increasingly irreconcilable differences in the ruling party, already considered by some to be a sinking ship.
But Uhuru’s men and close associates of Opposition chief Raila Odinga claimed the Deputy President's punches are really aimed at Uhuru himself, and Tuju is just a pawn in the power games.
Ruto accused Tuju of being among the political strategists for Raila himself — the man he believes will be his challenger in the 2022 presidential contest.
“So our democracy is so liberal that the SG of the ruling party has become the chief strategist of the opposition!! Maajabu,” Ruto tweeted.
But the tweet triggered fierce reactions and some social media users told Ruto that he himself was a beneficiary of liberal democracy, numerous times contradicting his boss without being sacked.
But Tuju, a student of retired President Mwai Kibaki's brand of politics, refused to engage the DP, only telling the Star that he will remain focused on Uhuru’s legacy projects.
I refuse to be drawn into a public argument with the Deputy President or engage with him through the media because he is my boss in the partyJubilee Sec Gen Raphael Tuju
“That is my position, just like it is also my position that I am committed to supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s efforts to unite the country through bold steps like the BBI, the handshake, the fight against corruption and the Big Four agenda," he said.
In the hierarchy, Ruto remains the boss but Tuju is the man who controls the Jubilee political machine.
With no party meetings since Uhuru rode to power in 2017, Tuju remains in charge of millions of shillings the party receives from the Exchequer and from members' contributions.
Sources said the control of the party ahead of the 2022 polls was at the centre of the conflict.
“There are some people who want to use the party machinery to campaign. However, the SG is complying with the President’s directive to freeze 2022 campaigning. Some people are not happy,” a source familiar with the Jubilee intrigues said.
Tuju variously served as Information, Tourism and Foreign Affairs Minister during President Kibaki’s first term and as his special adviser in his second term.
Currently, he is among the closest Kenyatta associates remaining at the helm of the Pangani-based outfit following the exit of ex-Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe.
Tuju is known to be close to the first family and hangs around with Uhuru’s younger but powerful brother, Muhoho Kenyatta.
As a vote of confidence in his secretary-general, Uhuru made Tuju Cabinet Secretary without portfolio, effectively giving him a seat in the executive’s top decision-making table.
And in an expected turn, after the handshake, Tuju quickly embraced Raila, a man he has have never seen eye-to-eye with since the 2005 referendum.
Seen to have a political profile outside his home constituency, the former Rarieda MP is likely to be the biggest beneficiary in Nyanza if Raila quits politics in 2022.
The new war with Tuju, who isn't firing back at Ruto, comes just days after Ruto accused some CSs from Mount Kenya region of secretly plotting to assassinate him.
The murder probe took a new twist, however, after the assassination letter was traced back to the DP's office. His aide Dennis Itumbi was arrested.
For months now, Ruto’s allies have been scheming to kick him out from the helm of Jubilee, following the exit of Murathe who was also seen as anti-Ruto and called for a Stop Ruto movement.
The removal bid peaked recently after the emergence of an audio with anti-Ruto sentiments, allegedly those of Tuju and Kiambu politician George Nyanja.
The two voices discussed why Ruto should rebuilt the Kimbaa Church, the epicenter of the 2007 post-poll violence, before dishing out his millions to other churches.
Yesterday, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, a close Ruto ally, insisted that Tuju is advancing the ideals of ODM and must quit Jubilee.
We will not allow him in our meetings. We will do the same as what ODM did to Magerer Lang’at…when you are an ODM strategist, then it means you are completely advancing the ideals of the party. We will use other means to ask the Registrar of Political Parties to strike his name out of the party roll
But Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny said Ruto is bereft of any political strategy and accused the DP of simply fighting the President.
“He [Ruto] claims he is the topmost and that his loyalty to the President is unquestionable, so why does he attack people who are closer to the President? Why not settle it in a civilised way. This is a true picture of a person who is not only restless but also unreliable,” Kuttuny said.
Nyando MP Jared Okello claimed Ruto had not internalised the handshake which meant cessation of hostilities.
“Ruto feels that between him and State House is one huge Raila Odinga out to block him. So, anyone gravitating towards Raila, including CSs in the Jubilee government, are perceived to be fighting him directly,” Okello told the Star.
“The President and the former PM said the agenda of the handshake is about inclusivity. The nine-point agenda signed during the handshake had inclusivity as an integral part. It means we have to work with everybody. Whoever is opposed to such is an enemy of the people.”
Yesterday, the DP who attended two different church services in Nairobi's Makadara and Mathare estates, asked Kenyans to shun leaders who perpetually engage in what he termed as endless and valueless politics.
"Voting is just a one-day exercise in a span of five years. We must focus on the transformation of this country," Ruto said.