Former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has maintained that there is nothing like guaranteed support for Deputy President William Ruto's maiden presidential bid from Mt Kenya voters come 2022.
Kabogo speaking on Citizen TV's JKL show on Wednesday, said that Ruto must prove to Kenyan voters that he is the right person to take over the baton from Uhuru.
"Succession is not guaranteed because you must convince us that you are the right person by working. It is only then that we will give it to you. As we talk now, the deputy president is missing in action," Kabogo said.
He added: "Ruto cannot make himself president because it is only Kenyans that can make him one."
On whether he would endorse Ruto for the top seat, he answered, "Well, he would have to convince me."
Kabogo also noted that in an electoral contest with Ruto it was possible for him to smash the DP as 'who is scared of Ruto?'
However, when asked whether he would beat ODM leader Raila Odinga in a similar contest, he was cautious with his response.
"There are things that Baba can beat me in and there are things I would really shaft him in," he said.
Kabogo was the first Mt Kenya political bigwig to publicly declare over three years ago that Mt Kenya support for Ruto's 2022 presidential bid was not guaranteed.
The matter came up again after the April 2017 Jubilee Party primaries where Kabogo blamed Ruto for his defeat in the nominations, saying that the DP 'most likely had a hand in it' as he saw him as a potential challenger come 2022.