- He accused Ruto camp of arrogance and sidelining other leaders from Mt Kenya.
- He wants presidential candidates to commit that they will effect one man one vote one shilling proposal.
Image: DPPS
The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri is drifting away from Deputy President William Ruto and has now trained his political arsenal on his former ally.
For the past few weeks, the ex-Agriculture CS has turned his back on the DP telling him off over his style of politics in the build up to the August 2022 general election.
Kiunjuri fired the first salvo telling off Ruto that he cannot claim to be the kingpin of Mt Kenya region when the vote is yet to be cast.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Kiunjuri accused the Ruto camp of exhibiting what he describes as "arrogance" and sidelining other leaders from Mt Kenya.
He faulted the DP for insinuating that he does not need coalitions with other parties.
Kiunjuri also dismissed UDA’s stand that it is a national movement that would easily win the 2022 election without relying on regional parties.
“They are full of arrogance. Will those people surrounding the DP be able to campaign on their own for Ruto? Can you ignore all the other leaders from the region and condemning their parties? No, it does not work like that,” he told the Star
He added, “We were ready for partnership but they said they do not want us. That our parties are small and tribal. You cannot talk like that before you cross the river. We could be that bridge that you need.”
Image: DPPS
Until three months ago, the TSP leader had stepped up his campaigns in support of the DP as the best man to take over after President Uhuru Kenyatta's second and last term comes to an end.
In February, for instance, Kiunjuri had outrightly declared that Ruto is the Mt Kenya candidate.
"He (Ruto) stood with the President and we shall also stand with him," Kiunjuri, said while accompanying Ruto for a church fundraiser in Engineer, Nyandarua county.
However, on Tuesday, when asked if he is still ready to work with the DP, Kiunjuri said he cannot force himself or his party into a relationship he is unwanted.
He said TSP has opted to be neutral and will only support a presidential candidate who will commit to protect the interests of the people of Mt Kenya.
“TSP will in the next three months make a decision on which party will enter into a pre or post-election coalition. We will team up with like-minded leaders and parties that share a common vision for not only the people of Mt Kenya but the entire country,” he said.
He dismissed claims that his party is a small, regional outfit noting that it is now in 27 counties.
“TSP just like UDA and any other party is a national party. We have aspirants across the country and I can assure them that TSP will have representation in the 47 county assemblies, Senate, National Assembly and governorship,” he said.
Reading from a separate script with Ruto, Kiunjuri said they will support a presidential candidate who will commit to ensure constitutional changes contained in the BBI are passed in the first 100 days of taking over government.
Ruto and his troops are strongly opposed to BBI.
Kiunjuri said contentious issues such as independence of the Judiciary and police, expansion of the Executive among others can be expunged from BBI, but the aspects on representation and sharing of revenue should be implemented.
“What we are saying is that Mt Kenya has historical injustices which should be addressed. Despite the huge population, we are underrepresented. We are rooting for the one man, one shilling one vote to address these inequalities,” he said.
“We have witness insecurity in Laikipia for instance, and we therefore need an assurance that Kenyans can live and vie for any political position in any part of the country,” he added.
But Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, one of the leading lights in Ruto campaigns, said no one has been locked out and that Kiunjuri should support the DP without any conditions.
Speaking to the Star on phone, the close confidant of the DP said Ruto’s agenda is to reach out to all Kenyans with his transformative development agenda and not the sharing of positions.
“Ours is an engagement of the willing and we have no conditions. Like everybody else, he is welcome to support the DP if he believes in the hustler nation and the bottom-up economic model,” he said.
He challenged Kiunjuri to build his party to a national outfit saying if he not ready to team up with Ruto now, he can use the strength of his party to negotiate for a post-election deal with UDA.
“We are in a big coalition with millions of hustlers and UDA is a national party. We encourage him to build his party and if he so desires, he may form a coalition with us after the elections when the strength of his party will have been determined and hence form the basis of the engagement,” he said.
-Edited by SKanyara