• Muturi says he is his own man without giving details of his political future and whether he will be gunning for the presidency.
• A section of Ruto's allies insists Muturi is their man and they will persuade him to be Ruto’s running mate.
Image: Fredrick Omondi
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has denied any political links to Deputy President William Ruto, as questions emerge on his 2022 political game plan.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am my own man. The only thing I am aware of is that elders gave me the mantle to be the spokesman for the Mt Kenya region,” he told the Star.
However, a section of Ruto's allies insists Muturi is their man and they will persuade him to be Ruto’s running mate.
Muturi did not give details of his political future and whether he will be gunning for the presidency.
Over the last few days, questions have emerged why known Ruto backers—especially from Mount Kenya East—were championing Muturi’s candidacy.
At the weekend, Meru Senator Mithika Linturi, an ardent Ruto supporter, fired a warning salvo to the Kikuyu community that Mt Kenya will split if they refuse to back Muturi.
“The disdain you are showing us, my friends, we are not going to be together. If it’s a split, let us split and people go it alone,” Linturi said.
"We will not accept to be eaten from the pockets like groundnuts. It’s time for the pot to be broken and everybody goes his own way.”
However, nominated MP Cecily Mbarire said for fairness and in honour of the 2013 political deal between Uhuru and Ruto, Muturi should be given the second slot in Ruto’s political line-up.
Mbarire, a confidant of the DP, said they will persuade Muturi to accept the slot.
“We are alive to the fact that in the 2022 election, we will not get the top position. Muturi has been number three in command and Ruto has been number two. As the region, we have agreed that we will support the DP to move to position one and the vacancy will be taken over by Muturi,” Mbarire told the Star on the phone.
She continued: “We are asking our cousins in the west (Central) that we have supported them since Independence, hence they have no choice but to support us this time around. It is in good faith that they do so.”
Runyenjes MP Erick Muchangi, another DP ally, said Muturi deserves the chance to be the next Mt Kenya spokesman and give the region the direction it should take in the next election. He told the Star on the phone that residents are fully backing the DP to be the next President.
“Muturi is now the senior-most leader from Mt Kenya after President Uhuru in terms of ranking; it follows that he should take the next position that will be available. Deputy President is our next presidential candidate and we want Muturi to work with Ruto,” he said.
However, former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti said since elders and leaders from Mt Kenya East have endorsed Muturi, they will soon announce the direction the region will take next year.
Kivuti, who is part of the team guiding Muturi as he fits into the leadership throne, told the Star that they will be meeting on Saturday to take a position as leaders from Mt Kenya East.
“We have made it clear that we want Mt Kenya East to lead this time, whichever way it goes. JB (Muturi) has stepped forward and we support him. When the time of announcing which direction we are taking comes, we will make it public. We will listen to our people and where they will say we go, we will go. The majority will have their way,” he said.
Last month, Muturi was crowned as Mt Kenya spokesman by a section of elders from the region, a ceremony that has triggered an acrimonious split in Mt Kenyan, with the Upper Eastern communities of Meru and Embu threatening to sever links with the Kikuyu—the dominant Gema ethnic group.
Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria—himself a presidential aspirant—led a section of governors and MPs in opposing the coronation of Muturi to an extent of getting elders to 'cleanse' Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga shrine where the speaker received the blessings of another group of elders.
Most of the big guns opposed to Muturi's crowning are also opposed to the Deputy President succeeding Uhuru in State House.
Former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, Wa Iria, Agriculture CS Peter Munya, former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and former Kiambu county boss William Kabogo are among those jostling to succeed Uhuru.
Muturi comes from Mt Kenya East, a region that has since Independence supported presidential candidates from the west, including the founding President Jomo Kenyatta, President Mwai Kibaki and President Uhuru.