Is there a possibility that Mt Kenya voters will shortchange Deputy President William Ruto in his 2022 clamour for the presidency?
This is a question that was amplified last week after Jubilee Party vice-chairman David Murathe publicly said that neither the party nor Mt Kenya voters owe DP Ruto a political debt payable in 2022.
Thus, political analyst Dr Onyango Ochieng Jnr says it is hard to trust Mt Kenya voters when they pledge to rally behind you.
He notes that history speaks for itself and that the DP could be one of the victims of political deceit by the vote-rich region of Mt Kenya.
“Two things I never trust with this nation of ours; a slay queen with jeans and Mt Kenya with power,” he says in a video together with media personality Albert Nyakundi Amenya alias Banana Peddler.
The analyst adds that since 1963, the region has been a perpetrator of political misgivings by shortchanging politicians, a tactic Ruto is not immune to.
He cites that the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Tom Mboya, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and now Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga are the biggest victims over the years.
“2002, Raila Odinga says ‘Kibaki Tosha’. Raila became the first victim of Mt Kenya.
"Kibaki signed an agreement that he was going for one term then he brought the only woman in government, Martha Karua, to remind Raila that that agreement was not anchored on the law but it was purely a gentleman’s agreement. Raila was shortchanged,” he offers.
"2008, they brought in Kalonzo. When he stood with them, what became of Kalonzo?.…I cannot trust these people with power."
However, a section of Mt Kenya MPs led by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wa has dismissed the notion that they will ditch Ruto come 2022.
Ichung'wa dismissed Murathe's pronouncement as a personal opinion adding that they are solidly behind the DP in 2022.