Veteran politician John Keen hosted Deputy President William Ruto two polite questions before his death in 2017 which could form a subject of discussion ahead of 2022 polls, reports the Sunday Nation.
During the meeting, Keen, a pioneer of Democratic Party, sought to know whether the MOU between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto will hold waters.
"The President has publicly stated he’ll go for 10 years; then support you to go for your 10 years: Is the promise binding? And if so, do you see the Mount Kenya bloc voting for you just because Uhuru will tell them to do so?”
The DP answered also eyeball to eyeball:“I have no reason to think the President will renege on his promise. As for Mount Kenya vote, I won’t sit back to wait for automatic endorsement. When the time comes, I will go there myself and talk to the people. Of course, I will request and really appreciate that the President be with me when seeking support in his backyard.”
The straight-shooting veteran didn’t it leave at that. He asked Dr Ruto what his fallback plan would be should Mount Kenya region decline to vote for him, with or without Uhuru’s endorsement.
Dr Ruto replied that he wouldn’t just be relying on Mount Kenya vote, and joked: “Mzee, I actually came here so that I can ask you to help me get the Maa vote when the time comes!”
Last week, the question about Mt Kenya region's commitment in Ruto's camp was raised after Jubilee Party Vice Chair David Murathe insisted that the party will not support Ruto's 2022 bid.
On Friday, EALA MP Maina Kamanda also reinforced the statement insisting that Murathe's remarks reflected true position of the populous region that has traditionally voted one of their own.