Deputy President William Ruto. [Photo/Standard Digital]
Just a day after nominated Senator Paul Njoroge accused Deputy President William Ruto of interfering with Jubilee primaries to lock out some leaders in Central and Rift Valley who are opposed to his 2022 presidential ambitions more politicians are coming out to claim how the DP weeded them out.
“We saw that senior politicians from Central and Rift Valley who opposed Ruto were rigged out of Jubilee primaries as part of the ongoing plan,” Njoroge said.
Another politician from Kajiado county Tarayia ole Kores has also directly blamed Ruto over his failure to secure Jubilee ticket in county gubernatorial primaries.
The politician said the DP tried to pursued him many times to settle for the senate position and leave the governor seat to former Interior CS Joseph ole Lenku but he refused.
“I told him the position of senator was intact with Mositet and there was no way I could oppose my friend. He promised to show me fire, and I have realised what he meant. He [Ruto] interfered with Kajiado nominations,” Kores told the Star.
Kajiado Senator Peter Mositet concurred.
The man from Sugoi has also been accused of drawing up a list of his preferred leaders in Mombasa and Kisii county where the party is still struggling to dwindle NASA's influence.
For instance it is claimed that Ruto is the one who picked Jubilee's Mombasa gubernatorial candidate Suleiman Shahbal and his running mate Anania Mwamboza.
And in Kisii, Ruto asked deputy governor Joash Maangi who has since decamped to ODM to step down for Senator Chris Obure.
A section of politicians from Central Kenya are bitter with the backroom deals by DP Ruto but they would rather not speak out because to them portraying the DP in badlight will complicate President Uhuru Kenyatta's reelection bid.
“You look at the nomination results and many of those allied to Uhuru lost. The level of bitterness sweeping through Central is unprecedented. But nobody wants to speak and be seen as jeopardising Uhuru's chances,” a prominent Central Kenya politician told the Star.
However, DP Ruto has denied vehemently any under hand dealings to lock out politicians opposed to his 2022 presidential ambitions and termed those linking his name to their fall as people who are using him as a scapegoat.
"I don't understand why people are obsessed with 2022 while we are heading to 2017. If I were in the business of meddling, I would have helped the characters in my office or my friends [who lost]," Ruto said.