Deputy President William Ruto is trying to gain entry into Nairobi politics through the upcoming Kibra by-election, Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed has observed.
Junet said the DP has no backing in the populous county and was out to make a name for himself using Jubilee Party candidate McDonald Mariga as a pawn.
He said Ruto was cautious that his 2022 presidential bid may backfire if he fails to get a substantial percentage of the Nairobi vote.
“The issue we have here is that Ruto wants to be President in 2022 but he has no serious support base in the city,” Junet said as quoted by the Standard on Friday.
However, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Director of Elections said Ruto was doomed to fail claiming his candidate will be defeated by Imran Okoth of the Raila Odinga-led party.
“ODM is the dominant party and we enjoy massive support in Kibra. We are not worried as far as the by-election is concerned,” Junet said.
Ruto has been campaigning for Mariga by hosting delegates at his Karen office in the past few weeks.
He has also implored ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford-Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang'ula to support the former international footballer.
"I have wanted to meet Mudavadi and Wetang'ula to agree to work together especially in supporting one of their own (Mariga) in the Kibra by-election. This should be the beginning of a unified Luhya community," Ruto said on Thursday during a function in Kakamega County.