Within a fortnight, Deputy President William Ruto is arguably a man under political siege, much of the heat coming from his own Jubilee Party.
JP’s Vice Chairman David Murathe has trained his gun on the DP with his latest salvo where he said Ruto is not eligible to vie in 2022 because his tenure under the Constitution ends together with that of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“Section 148 of the Constitution says nobody can run for Deputy President for more than two terms. Section 142 also says nobody can run for President for more than two terms, and this presidency is a pair...,”said Murathe on Saturday in Rarieda.
He added: “So in essence, if he automatically becomes President without going for the mandate of the voter, it means he is still riding on the very first mandate they were given as a pair. Then that it is why he can’t run again.”
Ruto’s allies say Murathe’s statements are being pushed by a faction within the party that is opposed to Ruto’s 2022 presidency but this, they say, will not cow them from pursuing the 2022 course.
With such brazen opposition from a part of the party which he is the deputy party leader, the next three years are critical for the DP in his bid for State House according to Gladys Chania, a Kiambu-based politician.
Chania offers that Ruto should now re-strategise on how to woo voters from the vote-rich region of Mt Kenya and his Rift Valley backyard, where antagonizing voices are growing by the day.
“His (Ruto) strategy on using elected leaders will confuse his arithmetic since most of these leaders are marked for ousting meaning they will have little or no value to his 2022 bid,” says Chania.
The Kiambu politician observes that after the handshake, some Mt Kenya leaders do not have an “enemy to fight” thus, they are backtracking from Team Tangatanga which is associated with the DP.
“They are now feeling they just joy rode in Tangatanga with no fruits to show and are now backtracking,” observes Chania. "With them looking for warmth elsewhere, Ruto might have a hard time looking for new allies and to trust them within a short time will be a challenge too.
”Nonetheless, political analyst Nerima Wako-Ojiwa cautions anyone against underestimating Ruto stating that he has time to manoeuvre his way to 2022.
“I would not call it uncertainty nor would I underestimate Ruto. Strategy has always been his strength looking at his political career. There is still room to manoeuvre, 2022 in political time is still far,” states the analyst.
#hivisasaoriginal #upekuzi