Ruto eyes Lusaka, Wetang'ula and Oparanya for 2022 deal

Deputy President William Ruto is hunting for three political heavyweights from Western to tilt the scales against Opposition chief Raila Odinga in his march to State House.

The Star has established that Ruto has been aggressively reaching out to Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula and outgoing Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

The game plan is to run away with the Western votes — a traditional Raila bastion and the backyard of One Kenya Alliance chief Musalia Mudavadi of ANC.

Ruto is seen to enjoy support in the Rift Valley and in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Mt Kenya backyard, limiting his solid political turf to the two regions.

Over the last few months, Ruto has directly engaged Oparanya but the ODM deputy party leader says he is in ODM to stay.

Signals that something was afoot came on Saturday following an unlikely meeting in Nakuru that threatens to reoganise Bungoma county politics.

Ruto has been keen on winning over Bungoma, the second most populous county in Western and the third most populated in Kenya

The Nakuru meeting brought together Wetang'ula, Lusaka, Kimilili MP Didmas Barasa and his Kiminini counterpart Chris Wamalwa.

It was at this meeting where the leaders agreed on the line-up.

In the new arrangement, Lusaka will be going back to reclaim his Bungoma governorship seat that he lost to Wangamati in 2017.

Wangamati has since fallen out with Wetang'ula in an acrimonious tussle over Ford Kenya.

Wetang'ula and Lusaka have not been seeing eye-to-eye.

In addition, the Speaker is a close confidant of the DP who played a key role in his election as the Speaker of the Senate.

Barasa is also a Ruto confidant.

In an interview with the Star, Lusaka said the interests of the Luhya nation will drive the direction of the community.

“The interests of our people are what we seek and we will take direction and partner with like-minded leaders with whom we share common ideas. What I know for a fact is that the people of Western will be in the next government,” he said.

“We are listening to the people of the ground. It is they who will define which political vehicle fits their needs and aspirations.”

Lusaka said he is determined to lead Western Kenya in forming a united outfit that will speak with one voice to negotiate with like-minded leaders in other regions.

“We cannot occupy the top seat in the country if we are disintegrated. Once we are  united, we will be able to be at centre stage to engage and negotiate with other leaders from other regions,” he said.

Barasa on the other hand told the Star the Nakuru meeting focused on local  politics but said they will be meeting in two weeks to flesh out national politics.

He said they resolved to back Lusaka for the governorship position, accusing Wangamati of running down the county.

It is not clear on which party Lusaka will run.

However, there  is speculation the plan is to revamp Ford Kenya and use it to bargain at the national level.

Barasa said the Wetang'ula-Lusaka axis will “never again back Raila” for the presidency.

“Yes, I am aware that my friend the Deputy President is keen on working with all the leaders from Western region. The DP is a good leader who has demonstrated  he can work with all leaders and he has a good agenda for this country,” he told the Star.

Contacted for a comment, Wetang'ula rubbished the claims, saying he is a founding member of OKA and would not ditch his team.

“It’s cheap and unhelpful propaganda by hate mongers,” he told the Star.

Over the weekend, Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga while speaking in Chwele said he had brought the greetings of Ruto, Wetang'ula and Lusaka.

"I am bringing you greetings of Wetang'ula, Lusaka and Deputy President William Ruto. Do you receive them?" the recently elected legislator asked in coded language.

Speaking on Citizen TV on Tuesday, Wamalwa, another close Wetang'ula ally, said OKA is open to engagements with other parties.

“As the One Kenya Alliance, we are open to any coalitions with partners like UDA and TPS, because we have that provision for pre-elections pacts,” Wamalwa said.

During the same show, UDA secretary general Veronica Maina said she cannot rule out working with the One Kenya Alliance ahead of the 2022 General Election.

Maina said UDA is ready to work with parties that share its ideology and treat others as equal partners.

“I will not rule out that we could join the One Kenya Alliance. There is also the possibility that they could join us, especially when they will be convinced that we have a presence everywhere,” she said.

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi could not deny or confirm that Ruto is reaching out to the three leaders.

“It is the desire of the Deputy President to unite the country under the new bottom-up economic model, which is a game changer for the entire nation,” he told the Star

“Oparanya, Lusaka and Wetang'ula are not just our neighbours in the North Rift region but they are also good friends of the Deputy President. We share a lot in common in terms of agricultural issues and so we are trying to see how we can unite our ideas,” he told the Star.

Over the last few months, Ruto has been lambasting his political competitors for what he says are ethnic formations instead of building one political movement driven by one ideology

During the interview, Lusaka, a long-serving administrator and PS, disclosed he is under pressure from the people of Bungoma to return.

“There has been a general feeling that Bungoma’s development agenda must be continued from where I left in 2017,” he said.

Lusaka said the current county leadership had failed, claiming that taxpayers’ money had been wasted on projects that would not have immediate impact on the lives of the ordinary people.

“What drives Bungoma is agriculture. That is why my administration focused on the distribution of free high-quality farm inputs to farmers,” he explained.

“But we did not just focus on the production side, we went further on the supply chain to the management and marketing of the farm produce.”

(Edited by V. Graham)