Deputy President William Ruto has been urged to pick his 2022 presidential running mate from the Kikuyu community.
Ruto who is said to be assembling heavy campaign machinery and elaborate strategy to capture the power from his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta is yet to name his deputy, sparking a debate on who is best suited to be his running mate.
In Central Kenya, various big names have cropped up with the likes of former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria being mentioned.
Others who have been proposed to deputise Ruto are Muranga Governor Mwangi Wa Iria and his Kirinyaga counterpart Ann Waiguru.
According to political analyst Daisy Maritim Maina, the DP would be 'guaranteed' of the presidency if he is backed by a candidate from the populous Mt Kenya region.
In her column on the Saturday Standard, the analyst observes the Kikuyu community is a huge voting bloc with whose support Ruto would be sure of becoming Kenya's fifth Head of State.
Maina opines that if Ruto fails to pick a candidate from the region, Kikuyus will throw their weight behind his opponents, a move that will highly dent his bid.
"If Ruto opts for a non-Kikuyu running mate, the rival coalition will benefit from the Kikuyu numbers and seriously jeopardise his chances," said Maina.
The analyst, however, notes that running with a Kikuyu will also come with its consequences for the DP as other communities may feel like two tribes are dominating them and reject him.
"While the Kikuyu running mate will bring a numerically strong voting bloc, she (the running mate) will also cause all other tribal blocs to consolidate against this Kikuyu/Kalenjin ‘presidential relay’," Maina cautioned.