Deputy President William Ruto on Wednesday held a private meeting with leaders from Kericho county at his Karen home in Nairobi.
Even though Ruto and those who attended the meeting led by Governor Paul Chepkwony, Energy CS Charles Keter and Senator Aaron Cheruiyot said that the agenda of the meeting was to discuss on development projects and needs in the green county, political strategies ahead of 2022 elections were discussed.
The meeting came barely a week after Eldoret based businessman and former Uasin Gishu gubernatorial aspirant Zedekiah Kiprop Bundotich alias Buzeki ditched DP Ruto's political camp to join Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) whose stronghold counties include Bomet, Kericho and Nakuru.
It is also emerging that CCM party is becoming a major threat to William Ruto’s political supremacy in the Rift Valley region as its leader and former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto have been the DP’s political critics.
For this reason, Ruto decided to meet Kericho County leaders and opinion makers as the first step of consolidating the South Rift region amid the cracks in his political camp.
How to counter the rising of CCM party in the South Rift region, which has been perceived to be solidly behind the self-proclaimed hustler’s 2022 presidential bid, might have also been discussed.
More meetings between William Ruto and leaders from other parts of the Rift Valley will follow as the 2022 succession politics is gathering more momentum.