- MP denies that he owes Ruto his political career, saying the DP was supporting Tum when Kutuny joined MP race in 2006
- Says it was Simatwo, Henry Kosgey, Mudavadi and Judy Pareno who believed in him
Cherangany MP Joshua Serem Kutuny describes himself as a self-made politician. In 14 years he has risen from being a Moi University graduate of political science to a key player in Kenya’s politics.
His father William Rugut was a farmer and disliked politics. Still, Kutuny delved into the mucky world of politics and says he has no regrets. He wishes his father were alive to see how far he has risen.
Kutuny was born in 1978 at Mwaita farm village in Cherangany, Trans Nzoia East. He went to Kipkeikei Primary School, then to Cherangany High School and later Suwerwa St Francis High School where he completed his secondary school education. He then joined Moi University to study public administration and political science.
Kutuny’s father struggled to pay his fees, forcing him to defer his studies but he eventually graduated in 2006.
During the time he took a break from his studies, Kutuny delved into political activism. In 2004 he was elected Kanu youth leader in Cherangany and became quite active in the region’s politics.
In 2005, while at the university, he was identified by Minister Otieno Kajwang’ as one of the vocal student leaders who would help push the Orange side during that year’s referendum.
It was during that time that he met Deputy President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“I got into politics with the intention of just being an expert as per my training but along the way people identified my potential and in 2007 residents of Cherangany asked me to vie for the parliamentary seat, thus, thrusting me into active politics to date,” he says.
Kutuny competed against political giants in the ODM primaries — the likes of Nathaniel Tum — and won the party ticket. He went on to be elected MP.
He regrets the 2007-08 post-election violence during which thousands of people in his constituency were displaced. Although he disliked the government of national unity, led by President Mwai Kibaki and Raila, Kutuny was forced to work with it to resettle the displaced families.
Raila was then Prime Minister. Kutuny says issues around the PEV led the fallout in ODM and he together with Energy CS Charles Keter formed the United Republican Party.
He says Ruto’s perceived dominance in Rift Valley is not a threat to him because he is an independent leader who believes in listening to his voters.
Ruto, who was then in UDM, would later join URP.
“By 2012 we had decided that we would not support Odinga again and even though Ruto had declared his interest in the presidency, we felt it was not yet time for him to do so,” Kutuny says.
He says the most viable option for them was to have a partner from Mt Kenya even though Kibaki was from the same region.
Kutuny says he was among those who identified Uhuru Kenyatta and his TNA party to partner with Ruto in the 2013 presidential election.
Kutuny says he was the first person at a meeting in Nairobi to ask Ruto and his allies to support Uhuru. “Many in our team, including Ruto, disliked the idea because Uhuru came from the same region as Kibaki, who was then outgoing president, but we convinced them that Uhuru was the best person to work with,” he says.
Kutuny says he held talks with Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe, Keter, and PS Joseph Njoroge to discuss the matter and later invited Ruto to Njoroge’s home where they asked him to work with Uhuru.
Others who later came in to strengthen the formation of Jubilee included Mount Kenya University chairman Simon Gicharu and businessmen Jimi Wanjigi, David Langat and Silas Simatwo.
Kutuny also played a critical role in the national campaigns for Jubilee but lost his seat to athlete Wesley Korir.
He remains grateful to President Kenyatta for appointing him his political adviser, a position he held until 2016 when he resigned and went back to vie for the Cherangany seat. He won.
The MP denies that he owes Ruto his political career, saying the DP was supporting Tum when Kutuny joined the race for the seat in 2006.
He says it was Simatwo, Henry Kosgey, Musalia Mudavadi and then ODM director of elections Judy Pareno who believed in him. “In fact, if there is anyone who created me politically, then it was Silas Simatwo and not Ruto,” he says.
Kutuny says his constituency is largely cosmopolitan and he has learnt to respect the wishes of his people.
He says Ruto’s perceived dominance in Rift Valley is not a threat to him because he is an independent leader who believes in listening to his voters.
Ruto’s fault is his ego, lack of respect for the President and taking his arrogance to the stage. He also listens to his sycophants yet they are the ones who mislead him and have caused the break-up in Jubilee
Just days ago Kutuny was appointed Jubilee deputy secretary general, replacing Soy MP Caleb Kositany, the only Ruto ally who still held a position in the party. The others had been swept aside in a number of purges.
“I will adopt a new approach to party matters and start listening to everyone, including extremists, so that we strengthen Jubilee,” Kutuny says.
Kutuny says he differed with the DP in 2018 when the lawmaker asked him to support the handshake between Uhuru and Raila.
He faults Ruto for leading a wing in Jubilee that is undermining and disrespecting the President and being disloyal to Jubilee.
“Ruto’s fault is his ego, lack of respect for the President and taking his arrogance to the stage. He also listens to his sycophants yet they are the ones who mislead him and have caused the break-up in Jubilee," he says.
He says Murathe was a staunch DP supporter as recently as last year but Ruto’s allies misled him and he lost the former’s backing.
He says the allies nearly cost Jubilee re-election in 2017.
“The DP and his allies also schemed to block all other leaders from accessing President Kenyatta in order to create their own political base but Uhuru realised the plan early enough and is dealing with it,” he says.
Kutuny regrets that politics is characterised by too much mistrust and backstabbing but takes pride in the fact that he has learnt so much that he can now work well in any situation and public position.
“Despite the ups and downs in politics, I don’t count losses. I am a Christian who strongly believes in God above everything else. My family comes first in everything I do, before even politics,” he says.