Kalenjin elders have asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to resolve his differences with Deputy President William Ruto to bring down rising political temperatures.
The elders who met their counterparts from the Kikuyu and other communities in the Rift Valley said they are ready to meet the President and his deputy to help resolve rifts between the two leaders.
The elders have warned that public protests by DP Ruto over frustrations against him in government were an indication of worsening relations between the two leaders who were a team before the last elections.
“We are asking our President not to ignore the public cry from the DP. Ruto is a senior leader and it is not proper when he comes out to complain publicly. It means he can’t even talk to the President about what he is facing,” North Rift elders chairman Alex Mursi said.
Mursi said elders at the Eldoret meeting expressed anger at the political wrangles which they said threaten peace and stability.
Elders from the Kikuyu community from the region were led by their chairman Samwel Mara and other representatives including Edwin Chepsiror.
“The elders have said they would not like to see any bad blood between the DP and his boss because that would cause problems for this country. We don’t want to go back where we were before,” Mursi said.
He said Uhuru must look seriously into the complaints raised by Ruto over his tribulations in government.
“Ruto is our son here in Uasin Gishu and also the Deputy President of this country. As parents, we are concerned when he cries out loudly."
The elders said they want the killers of Sergent Kipyegon Kenei to be brought to book as soon as possible.
“We want the DCI to speed up the ongoing probe so that Kenei’s killers are arrested and made to face the law," Mursi said.
Mara said they recall meetings they held with Uhuru and Ruto pledging to work together in leading the country for 10 years under each of them.
“Uhuru has not come to tell us that they have differed with Ruto and that is why we remain firmly behind the DP alongside the President,” Mara said.
Chepsiror said they fully support the BBI process but will not back a document altered to suit the interests of some individuals. He said it was unfortunate that the BBI rallies had been used to target the DP and divide the country.
The elders said they were concerned that Kenyans were not given a chance to read the document as promised by the President. “Instead, what we have seen are rallies full of insults and people dancing to reggae. We are not interested in such dances."
The elders said they were ready to host Uhuru and Ruto to establish what was causing problems between them.
“We are Ruto’s parents and we are the ones who asked him to team up with Uhuru. Let the President come and tell us if Ruto has made a mistake so we can caution the DP," Chepsiror said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
