Veteran Machakos-based politician Kalembe Ndile has said that he will not back the presidential bid of Deputy President Dr William Ruto.
Speaking in Machakos today, Kalembe said that he had reached the decision after consulting with members of the Tip Tip faction of the governing Jubilee party.
"We in the Tip Tip faction of the Jubilee party want to announce that we will not support Ruto, the deputy president, in his 2022 presidential bid. (Katika chama cha Jubilee mrengo wa Tip Tip tunataka kutangaza leo kwamba sisi hatutamuunga Ruto, deputy president, hatutamuunga mkono katika juhudi zake za urais 2022), " Kalembe Ndile said. (0:08-0:30)
The former legislator said that he had taken the decision because the associates of the deputy president were not supporting the war on corruption.
He went on to add that his Tip Tip faction would only rally behind a candidate who was supporting the war that the Uhuru-led administration is waging on graft.
Ndile's strong words are bound to complicate the DP's 2022 arithmetic and will fuel to speculation that the ruling Jubilee party will break.
Jubilee continues to reel from internal wrangles with factions within its trading fire publicly.
There are factions which support the deputy president's presidential aspirations while others are strongly opposed to them.