Deputy President William Ruto is very unlikely to scoop the entire Mt Kenya vote in 2022, as he will be seeking to realize his presidential bid, political analyst Herman Manyora has said.
The populous region is among the blocks the DP has been appearing very interested in, judging by his frequent visits and the number of allies he has since managed to pull to his side.
But the university professor says that Ruto, being a bright man, must have realized that he cannot bank on the region's full backing and must be looking elsewhere for support.
“The DP cannot bank on 100 per cent Mt Kenya's support unless he is a fool. He is certainly looking elsewhere, knowing that he may get Mt Kenya votes or not,” he said, Monday.
At the same time, he warned that as much as he will need backing from other regions, the DP must be careful so as not to erode the progress he has already made in Mt Kenya.
He says that even if he woos other allies, say Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and ANC boss Musalia Mudavadi, he should still keep Mt Kenya close and not discard it, for better results.
"He must be aware of what he loses, for instance, when he gets Kalonzo and Musalia to his side,” added the commentator.
But United States International University (USIU) professor and analyst Macharia Munene appears to disagree with Manyora and is of the idea that Ruto's backing in Mt Kenya is genuine.
According to him, the DP enjoys a massive backing in Mt Kenya, which is actually growing, which he can actually bank on come 2022.
"Ruto's support in Mt Kenya is steadily growing and is actually genuine. When he is reaching out to other political bigwigs, that is normal," said the commentator.
But the DP has repeatedly come out to declare that he is not expecting any automatic backing from any part of the country but will go out in search for support in 2022.