The Deputy President on Sunday revealed the planned mega ceremony to make Ruto, an ‘outsider’, king of the region.
It has never happened before that an outsider has been king or kingpin and by tradition there's no fanfare, it just happens, however, with former President Uhuru Kenyatta out of the way on government business, the landscape different.
It sounds like early campaigning and major opposition is expected.
“We are planning to welcome our leader (Ruto) to the mountain. His homecoming to Mt Kenya because there is a traditional way [in which] we receive our kings. We shall receive you as a king because you are one,” Gachagua said.
The DP revealed the plans during interdenominational thanksgiving prayers held at Nanyuki Stadium in Laikipia county on Sunday.
Rigathi made the revelations as President Ruto declared that his government was now ready to actualise its development agenda after the four-day retreat of top government officials in Nanyuki.
The President disclosed that in the retreat attended by the Cabinet Secretaries, PSs and top officials, the government nailed the implementation matrix to implement development plans.
“We have had a meeting of CSs, PS, governors, senators, and MPs in Laikipia. All that work that we wanted to do, has been planned well,” the head of state said.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and several members of Parliament attended the interdenominational prayers.
However, not a single CS or PS attended the meeting with the President, saying they were still held up in the meeting to actualise their plans to realise the government’s development blueprint.
“We were to come here with CSs and PSs but unfortunately that work has not been finished and that is why we organised for them a small sermon there so that they finish that work,” Ruto said.
Speaking at the solemn prayers, Rigathi said Ruto’s grand crowning will be the culmination of a long procession that will begin in Githuruai, Nairobi, and end at the Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri.
The DP revealed that there will be several stopovers, some marked with prayers during the pageant.
He did not state the date, saying it was being planned.
“The journey will start in Gichurai to Ruiru, Juja, if we reach River Chania, we will stop and pray,” he said.
“We will then move to Kenol, enter Maragua, Muran'ga, Sagana, Kagio, Kutus, Kerugoya, Kagumo, Kiagai, Karatina, Nyeri, Chaka and State Lodge Sagana,” he said.
At Sagana, prayers will be conducted, both by the clergy and traditional leaders, before the President is installed as the region’s king.
Thereafter, the President will hold 'Sagana One' meeting with local leaders to discuss development.
The installation will make Ruto the undisputed ‘outsider’ political supremo of the vote-rich region after retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In both 2013 and 2017, Uhuru was the undoubted political superstar.
He controlled the politics of the vote-rich region, scooping more than 95 per cent of the votes in the two elections.
However, Ruto dislodged Uhuru, scooping more than 86 per cent of the region’s votes in the last election.
Ruto beat Azimio candidate Raila Odinga who was backed by Uhuru.
Since his election, Rigathi has been seen to be positioning himself to succeed Uhuru and become the gateway to the region’s politics.
However, with his revelations, recent prayers for Ruto while facing Mt Kenya and passionate appeal to the residents to support the President and his administration, he seems keen, or resigned, to let the head of state run the show.
On Sunday, he called on the region to be content and stop bickering about government appointments by the President.
“We have been given something. Let us be contented with the little we have got. Mr President, I am grateful for the seats you have given us,” the DP said.
Gachagua urged the residents to remain calm and avoid complaining about the recent allocation of government positions.
“Let’s not shout much, we will miss other seats, you heard that the President had been taken to court because of giving us many seats. So, let’s accept to be given in little portions. A man reaps what he sows,” he said.
On Sunday, Uhuru’s troops dismissed as a big fallacy attempts to instal Ruto as the region’s kingpin.
“Never in the history of any African cultural or ethnic group has there been a kingpin from another community or even a spokesman. Therefore, to say that you can go and instal Ruto as a Mt Kenya kingpin is a fallacy,” Jubilee secretary general Jeremiah Kioni said.
Kioni said that Ruto’s planned installation is meant to remove Kenyans from the focus on the difficulties arising from the high cost of living.
In his address, Ruto, who has been leading the Cabinet and top officials in his government in the retreat since Thursday, said that they have come up with a plan to realise the promises he made to Kenyans, including reviving the economy and rolling out development.
“That work you have given us, there is a saying in Swahili that says, there is a person who has gotten a job and there is a job that has found someone,” he said.
“Very soon, you will see which is which. We will plan and ensure that work goes smoothly the way we agreed with you and the people of Kenya,” he said.
During the retreat, the President was said to be tough with the officials, barring away some for arriving late, after 7.30am. He tasked the officers, who were placed in clusters, to come up with 90-day deliverables, complete with sources of funding.
“Allow me to confess, you have really pressed us in that retreat. People saw the word retreat and thought we were coming to relax. The reason we do not have CSs here and PSs, is because they have unfinished business,” Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro disclosed.
“The President has done something that has never happened in history — to plan the work. Ministers are there. The President wakes up at 6am and sits until night falls. on Saturday, we closed at midnight,” Rigathi reckoned.
In his plan, Ruto and his deputy will oversee the development of the national and the improvement of the living standards of Kenyans.
Mudavadi, he reckoned, will be in charge of liaison between the Executive and Parliament, and, in collaboration with CSs, answer questions on the floor of Parliament.
“So, we have planned our work well and I want to assure you of this, we will transform this country,” the President said.
Gachagua urged his boss to personally take charge of the development plan lest it stalls in the hands of others.
“Mr President, I want to encourage you to do your work by yourself. Don’t leave this work to anyone, it will stall. That past government got struck because they lacked someone to plan the work. They left it to someone to look for them,” he said.
Meantime, the President has assured parents and students that the transition of students to junior secondary school will be smooth.
He said the government was working round the clock to ensure the transition happens without hitches when schools reopen for the first term.
“We have agreed before the end of this month, we are going to hire new teachers who will help us in the transition of our children,” he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
