Cherangany Member of Parliament Joshua Kutuny has been missing in action in the political arena weeks after he was in the forefront of protesting against the government's delay in paying maize farmers their dues.
The Jubilee MP had linked the office of Deputy President William Ruto to the woes wrecking the agricultural sector in the Rift Valley region.
However, his sudden silence on the matter has elicited mix reactions among political pundits in the country.
Elijah Maiyo, a Uasin Gishu politician has attributed Kutuny's silence to the fear of losing the overwhelming support he received from the locals when he was re-elected as Cherangany MP in 2017 after losing in 2013.
“Kutuny was just trying to ride behind the maize crisis to elevate his star in the region. However, the move did not materialise politically as he expected and being a good political scientist, he had to change his tune,” said Maiyo.
The former chief adviser to the office of the president led forays campaigning against farm diversification which was being pushed by DP Ruto in a bid to curb shortcomings that perennially affect maize farmers due to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) administrative malpractices.
“DP Ruto enjoys overwhelming support as a kingpin and nothing much will destruct his support from within. Being a firm critic of Ruto could politically cost him since people had started claiming he was hired to taint the DP’s name," said John Sirma, a local political analyst.
Sirma added that Kutuny has now toned down to a proponent of the referendum debate which the deputy president has shown support for.
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