- Ruto is currently in the US for a state visit and is expected back at the weekend.
- Governor Jonathan Chelilim, in whose county will host the DP, is the latest to dismiss the talk noting “it does not work”.
Image: DPCS
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is set to begin a two-day tour of the Rift Valley region today, amid speculations of a strained relationship with President William Ruto.
According to a tentative program, Gachagua will address a public gathering at Silverline in Eldoret this afternoon.
On Saturday, he will be the chief guest at an empowerment program at Seiyo Secondary School in Kipchamo ward, Kesses.
This event will feature various elected leaders and cabinet secretaries, with succession politics and revenue-sharing formulas expected to dominate discussions.
Gachagua has been a proponent of the one-man, one-shilling principle.
Ahead of the empowerment event, Gachagua will attend the ordination ceremony of the recently appointed Eldoret Catholic Diocese auxiliary bishop John Lelei.
The event will be held at the Mother of Apostles Seminary grounds.
On Sunday, the Deputy President will preside over an interdenominational church service at Matharu Primary School in Kesses and later address residents, where he will reaffirm his support for President Ruto and Kenya's Kwanza agenda.
The visit will come at a time when Ruto is expected back in the country after successfully concluding his state visit to the US.
Gachagua who is spearheading the one-man, one-shilling sharing formula has been in the eye of a storm with a cross-section of leaders coming out to strongly oppose it.
He is advocating for increased resources for populous regions.
“The push for this formula is not just about our region’s high population but it is because it is the right thing to do. We are committed to ensuring fairness in the sharing of national revenue," he stated at an event in Kiambu.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Chelilim, in whose county will host the DP, is the latest to dismiss the talk noting “it does not work”.
“We do not want to go into that kind of politics but we believe in our shareable revenue to be able to satisfy our people and give them enough services,” he said.
Leaders from the Arid and Semi-Arid regions have also weighed in on the matter terming it retrogressive.
Addressing the press in Nairobi, the leaders lashed out at Gachagua for allegedly pushing for it arguing that this would further marginalise the northern Kenya and pastoralist areas.
"We reject the mantra of one man one vote one shilling, we are not promoters of the same and if that has to exist then this team believes in one man one kilometre one shilling," former Tiaty MP Asman Kamama said.
Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has also slammed Gachagua, noting the move will affect his presidential ambitions.
During the DP tour to the region, the focus will be on whether he will assert his position or change the tune.
Gachagua reemerged Sunday last week after a seven-day absence from the limelight due to what many attribute to the “fights from within”.
He was a no-show during the national tree planting program despite the program indicating he was to preside over the exercise in Bomet.
"A lot of politics has been said here. I will say nothing, the reason being as the Deputy President, I decided to speak less and work more,” he said at a church service in Kieni West, Nyeri.
While attending the funeral service of his former teacher, the DP told mourners that he had taken time to pray and fast.
"I had taken seven days away for prayers and fasting, for reflection and meditation in the heart of Mt.Kenya forest," he said.