Ruto allies split to attend Kitui rally, bishop's installation

Deputy President William Ruto's allies will split into two groups on Saturday to attend the Raila Odinga-led BBI rally in Kitui and a key Catholic Church event in Eldoret.

The Star has established that the DP's lieutenants will attend the Kitui Building Bridges Initiative crusade on Saturday, despite initially indicating they would pull out over threats to humiliate them.

Ruto's brigade will also be heavily represented during the inauguration of the new Eldoret Bishop, Dominic Kimengich, a key event in the DP's Rift Valley backyard.

"Both events are important so we have groups to attend them," MP Caleb Kositany said.

Ruto will lead a strong delegation of the region's political and opinion leaders during the installation of Kimengich, who succeeds Cornelius Korir.

The mass is likely to be attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta and a number of national leaders.

The DP's key allies from Ukambani will all attend the BBI rally in Kitui as well as select like-minded politicians from other regions such as the Coast.

The BBI rallies have been held in Kisii, Kakamega, Mombasa and now Kitui, with more planned across the country to popularise the document unveiled by Uhuru and Raila at Bomas last November.

Various political groups have suggested amendments to the report with proposals such as the introduction of a powerful PM and two deputies.

Saturday's meeting will be the second BBI rally to be attended by Ruto's brigade.

The first was the January 25 Mombasa rally where many Tangatanga forces were denied an opportunity to address the crowd because of their hardline positions against BBI proposals.

Only Senate Majority leader and Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen was given an opportunity to talk. He said the DP allies would start attending the rallies countrywide.

Following a Tangatanga strategy meeting in Naivasha on January 27-28, however, Ruto's allies announced they will roll out what they called "complementary rallies" across their strongholds.

The first is planned for Afraha Stadium on February 8. The legislators said on Friday their pro-Uhuru and Raila colleagues are welcome. 

On Friday, the Tangatanga legislators unveiled nine counties where they intend to hold their first round of rallies.

They said they will be Kitui on Saturday, February 8 (Nakuru), February 9 (Garissa), February 14 (Bungoma), February 15 ( Meru), February 16 ( Karatina), February 21 ( Narok), February 22 (Kirinyaga),  February 28 (Kericho) and Nyandarua on February 29.

During a press conference at Parliament Buildings on Friday, the legislators led by Murkomen and National Assembly Majority Whip Benjamin Washiali said the rallies will be in addition to the ongoing ones and not parallel.

'There are no parallel rallies. There can only be one BBI rally at a time and there are no better organisers than others," Murkomen said in a swipe at the pro-Uhuru and Raila troops.

He said they had booked Afraha Stadium for their rally and invited Uhuru, Raila and Ruto.

"We expect that President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto and the former Prime Minister [Raila] will grace this rally because we have already extended an invite to them,” Murkomen said.

The Tangatanga team also said they had invited the BBI task force to take their views, a request the panel's joint secretary Paul Mwangi said they would honour.

"We will send technical experts to all groups that invite us. We have been sending them to the rallies in Kisii, Kakamega and Mombasa," he told the Star.

Mwangi said, however, the technical experts will only be involved during the delegates' meetings to engage participants for their views and not at the political rallies.

"We are not a party to the rallies but if requested to collect the views in public rallies then we will," he added.

Fearing their opponents in some regions where Tangatanga does not enjoy absolute popularity may use the BBI wave to turn the tables against them, the DP's allies have turned strategic.

The attendance by the DP's allies aims to parry efforts by their opponents to ride on the BBI wave to gain political mileage at their expense.

Most of the DP's allies will be present in every BBI rally in their regions, even as they plan meetings to counter the Raila wave and fight against the proposed parliamentary system.

The game plan, the Star understands, will give Tangatanga backers from regions hosting BBI meetings an opportunity to front local issues and push Ruto's socioeconomic empowerment narrative.

“It is clear that various regions have different issues. As you know, this is politics and we would not want some of our opponents to ride on BBI to campaign against us. We will be in those meetings and articulate issues affecting our people,” Bomachoge Chache MP Alfa Miruka said.

Uhuru and Raila's allies are keen on a parliamentary system with a powerful prime minister and two deputies, but the DP's camp is fronting populist ideas on economic emancipation of Kenyans.

Those expected to attend Saturday's rally in Kitui include Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Kitui Governor Charity Ngulu, Makueni's Kivutha Kibwana and Alfred Mutua of Machakos.

A regional unity meeting in Machakos on Wednesday approved two rallies in Ukambani, starting with Kitui then Wote on February 8.

The DP's allies from Ukambani have indicated they will attend the rally and warned against any intimidation tactics.

“We will be in Kitui for the BBI rally tomorrow [Saturday]. The meeting will be about pushing for national unity as well as advancing measures to address the problems facing Kenyans,” Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka said.

Musyoka, a key DP ally, said Ukambani leaders who support Ruto will all attend the rally and speak about issues such as poverty, unemployment and low prices of farm produce.

“I think it is clear that we want a BBI that addresses the economy and looks at ways of creating jobs for the youth and unites the country,” he said.

On Tuesday, MPs allied to Uhuru and Raila said the DP's allies were not welcome to BBI meetings. "We know where they are and will not entertain them to speak during the BBI rallies," Kakamega Senator Cleopas Malala said.

On Thursday, Ngilu and Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau conducted an inspection tour of Kitui Stadium, the venue of the Kitui rally, and said it was all systems go.

Ngilu said the region has drawn its memorandum to be read during the rally after intense discussion among elected leaders, the clergy, professionals and residents for onward transmission to the BBI secretariat.

“Our region has been ravaged by perennial drought, poverty, hunger, poor healthcare, dilapidated infrastructure and lack of clean water among other vagaries of the weather. BBI is destined to solve our post-Independence challenges,” Ngilu said.

Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya