Deputy President William Ruto's opposition to referendum amendments has everything to do with his 2022 presidential ambitions, political analyst Dennis Anyonka has said.
The DP has been appearing lukewarm on the looming constitutional changes, under the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) push.
Despite being a product of ODM leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, the DP has questioned it.
Anyonka on Tuesday said that the action is natural, as the DP fears that the changes might interfere with the presidential powers, which might be disadvantageous should he win.
"Ruto has presidential ambitions and would like to inherit power as it is now. He does not want the power reduced. If the plan is to reduce the powers then he will oppose it, its all about interest (Ruto ako na nia ya kuwa rais 2022 na angependa ku inherit power na nguvu zilivyo sasa, hataki nguvu zipunguzwe. Kama ni kupunguza nguvu za rais atapinga, it's all about interest)," he said.
Anyonka, also a lawyer, made the remarks on Radio Maisha's Bunge La Maisha on Tuesday morning.
He added that the same is the case among the DP's supporters, who have also declared war on any plans to amend the constitution, taking their anger out through attacks on Raila.
The commentator observed that on their side, they are using the issue to gain political mileage, and are using comments from the pro-BBI team to learn what to expect in the BBI report.
"Ruto's people are opposing based on the comments they are hearing but they are only politicking. (Watu wa Ruto wanapinga kwa sababu ya semi wanazozisikia. Ni siasa wanapiga)," he added.
Both Raila and Uhuru have declared their full support for the BBI taskforce and its yet-to-be-released report.