Deputy President William Ruto is determined to contest for the presidency when 2022 comes.
This is evident in his countrywide campaigns which he seems to have already launched. But what is the DP's biggest trouble as he positions himself to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta and become Kenya's fifth president?
Ruto has been busy trying to make alliances with like-minded leaders from across all regions in Kenya. He has been visiting Western, Coast, North Eastern, Central as well as his Rift Valley political base.
Although a section of the leaders he has met in these regions and requested to work with ahead of the 2022 polls have promised to help him garner votes in their respective political bases, majority of the leaders seem to be stuck in their original political parties marketing their ideologies.
ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula who Ruto has been warming up to from Western are still stuck in their parties and have recently been busy strengthening the political formations. There is so far no clear indication that any of the two parties (ANC and Ford Kenya) may break up and join the DP in forming one strong formidable political party like it happened with Ruto's URP and Uhuru's TNA when they dissolved to form Jubilee Party.
In Coast region, most of the MPs the DP has been meeting, majority of whom were elected under the ODM party ticket still enjoy a cordial relationship with opposition chief Raila Odinga.
In Ukambani, a host of MPs led by Kitui Senator Enock Wambua, despite meeting the DP at his Karen home on Tuesday evening insist that they are still firmly in NASA and do not envision anytime soon to leave the opposition coalition.
So what's Ruto's hardest nut to crack ahead of 2022?
The deputy president has a huge task of identifying genuine leaders who will be ready to sacrifice their political careers while supporting his quest to become president.