Deputy President William Ruto's influence in the country is growing by the day and as he prepares to take his first attempt to become President, there are politicians he has helped groom to who they are today.
In his Rift Valley backyard, there are three such leaders who, without him (Ruto) would be wielding less influence in the vote-rich region.
The three are outspoken Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi as well as his Soy counterpart Caleb Kositany.
Murkomen, Sudi and Kositany have since 2013 been in constant touch with the former Eldoret MP and their association with the DP has elevated them to who they are today in Kenya's political arena.
The leaders in the run-up to the 2013 general election capitalized on Ruto's International Criminal Court (ICC) case at The Hague to gain prominence in Rift Valley after branding themselves as Ruto's 'spokespersons' when the DP battled the ICC charges.
Murkomen and Sudi are on record having helped the Jubilee administration gain support in the region after accusing opposition leader Raila Odinga of helping frame murder charges against Ruto and then Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta after the Post Election Violence that hit the country after the 2007 presidential election.
Today all the three leaders have remained stuck in Ruto's camp and are among leaders pushing for the DP's presidency in 2022.
If it were not for the name Ruto, perhaps Murkomen, Sudi and Kositany would not be wielding the political power they presently possess.