Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has dismissed social media reports that he paid a courtesy call to Deputy President William Ruto at his Karen home on Thursday.
Terming the reports as 'desperation', Moi said he spent the better part of Thursday at his father's home in Kabarak. The Moi family lost eldest son Jonathan Moi about three weeks ago and have been mourning.
Photos circulated on social media showed Mr Moi at Ruto's Karen home even as it emerged that they were taken in 2014 when the relationship between the duo was moderate.
"The social media has been awash with photos purporting that I was at a certain Karen home. The information is not true but propaganda by a wing of the political divide desperate to hoodwink Kenyans. I have been home in Kabarak since yesterday spending quality time with H.E Mzee," he wrote on Facebook.
The two leaders have been embroiled in tough succession politics, with both of them declaring interest to replace President Uhuru Kenyatta who retires in 2022. Both hail from populous Rift Valley region.
Despite endless attempts by Kalenjin leaders to prevail Moi to drop his presidential bid, the Baringo senator has insisted that he's in the race, warning that nobody should undermine his bid.
“Tunaomba kumwambia naibu wa rais kuwa kutangulia si kufika (We want to tell the DP that being the deputy President is no guarantee that he will be the president of this republic. He should just be patient because he will be in for a rude shock,” added the senator, who is also the chairman of the Kenya African National Union (Kanu).
“I will be on the presidential ballot in 2022, and my political opponents should brace for a tough battle. I am not cowed, and I am not ready to shelve my political ambitions ,” he said.
Besides the function at Kabarak during the burial of Jonathan Moi, the two have never shared podium in recent years. Mr Gideon Moi was last year accused of blocking Deputy President William Ruto from visiting retired President Daniel Moi.