Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho was on Saturday and Sunday in Rift Valley where he met former President Daniel Arap Moi and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi before he held a series of meetings in Baringo and Samburu.
Joho's visit has elicited mixed reactions as some analysts claim he may be planning to craft an alliance with Senator Moi who has set his eyes on the presidency in 2022.
However, what many may not have foreshadowed is that the former Kisauni MP may not actually wield adequate capacity to shake the Rift Valley region and sway voters away from Ruto.
Joho is the ODM deputy party leader. He is number two in command in the ODM hierarchy and conventionally is expected to wield immense power within the party and among ordinary Kenyans.
Although he may have a sizable support across the country, his support in Rift Valley may actually be dim.
Rift Valley is known for its block-voting patterns and this clearly played out during the 2013 and 2017 general polls when the Jubilee Party scooped majority of the votes there.
If the region during the two polls managed to defy opposition chief Raila Odinga and vote for Jubilee, then there is a likelihood that Joho's efforts to influence voting patterns there may bare insignificant success. Off course Raila is more powerful than Joho.
There is currently growing opposition to Ruto's presidential bid through Senator Moi, but still Moi is seen in the region as a soft politician who members of the Kalenjin community see as a man who may never stand firm in defending their rights especially the emotive land issue.
As the race for 2022 takes shape, many leaders eyeing the presidency will set base in Rift Valley including Joho. But their efforts to sway the region's voters away from Ruto may not work.
Ruto has crafted himself as a leader ready to put his life on the line for the sake of defending members of the Kalenjin community.