• Ruto in his rallies is always accompanied by a coterie of his troops who have not shied away from affirming their support for his 2022 bid.
• In 2019, Ruto became one of the most locally travelled government official, traversing the country almost visiting every constituency in counties he is eyeing.
Image: MARTIN OMBIMA
Deputy President William Ruto is set to resume his nationwide tours on Friday, setting the stage for yet another busy year full of political activities ahead of the 2022 election.
The DP spent his Christmas holidays in Southern Africa, visiting Namibia and Botswana. He flew back to Nairobi last week. His first public appearance was on Tuesday in Nyeri county where he attended the burial of Martha Kirigo, the mother of Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.
Tomorrow, Ruto is expected in Vihiga county and on Sunday he will be in Narok and Uasin Gishu. In his rallies, he is always accompanied by a coterie of his troops who have not shied away from affirming their support for his 2022 presidential bid.
In 2019, Ruto became one of the most locally travelled government officials. He traversed the country, almost visiting every constituency in counties he is eyeing.
His tours were mainly of South Nyanza, Western, Coast, the Mt Kenya region and parts of Rift Valley in what political analysts note is part of his wider scheme to consolidate Jubilee support bases and eat into the opposition bastions.
While his critics see the whirlwind tours as part of his early 2022 campaigns disguised as the launch of government projects, his staunch supporters hold that he is merely performing the functions of his office by inspecting development projects.
Nominated MP David Sankok, who confirmed that the DP will be in Narok West on Sunday, said the President and the DP have “a contract with Kenyans, which must be rolled out”.
“Remember the President and the DP have a manifesto with several promises to Kenyans. The DP, being the only principal assistant to the President, has a duty to ensure the promises are fulfilled,” he told the Star on phone.
Sankok said only the President should complain if indeed Ruto is campaigning for his 2022 presidential bid. The vocal legislator also took issue with ODM leader Raila Odinga’s criticism of Ruto's donations, saying, “It is only mean men who do not contribute."
“Before the DP make a visit or attend an event, note that the President is always aware. The DP respects the President and some people who are used to wrangles are unhappy how Ruto has managed to maintain that good relationship with Uhuru.
"Raila is not only a senior politician in this country but has also been a Prime Minister. He was entitled to weekly government allowances, which he did not need to account for. He used it for his personal gain and now that the DP, and even the President, is using his for the good of the public, he feels bad.”
But Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma (ODM) questioned why Ruto has not launched “the so-called development projects and Nyanza” if indeed his mission is to initiate development.
“Ruto’s numerous tours have nothing to do with development but campaigning for himself,” he said.
“If indeed he was launching projects in good faith, why has he not covered the whole country? This is a man who has mapped out areas that might vote for him in 2022 and he is busy campaigning,” Kaluma said.
The legislator also noted that if the projects were real, the Mt Kenya region, Uhuru’s backyard, would not be complaining of being neglected by the government they voted for.
“In law, he has no projects to launch. Parliament does the budging and the line ministries are charged with implementation. We have seen instances where he has launched ghost projects,” Kaluma said.