A section of Kalenjin elders from the North Rift region now says both Deputy President William Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi have a right to vie for the top seat in the 2022 geneal elections.
The elders from Nandi, Uasin Gishu, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties have also insisted that it is Kenyans who will make a final decision on who between the two leaders should succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Addressing a media briefing in Eldoret town on Tuesday, the elders led by Yusuf Keitany, Philemon Lel, and Daniel Chebwai further dismissed sentiments by a section of politicians allied to the Deputy President William Ruto who have been saying that he is the only one who has the backing of the Rift Valley region.
“Senator Moi also has a following in Rift Valley and he is equally up to the task. Let it be known among Kenyans that it is not only DP Ruto who is seeking to be president in 2022, we also have the Baringo Senator,” said Philemon Lel, an elder from Ziwa, Uasin Gishu county.
“If Kenyans want Gideon Moi to vie for Presidency nobody can stop him unless they decide otherwise on the ballot,” added another elder from Elgeyo Marakwet County, Daniel Chebwai.
The elders also insisted that the presidency is not only restricted to certain individuals saying all qualified candidates including Gideon Moi should be allowed to square it out with other interested candidates in the race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
DP Ruto and Senator Moi are already embattled in a supremacy battle to control the vote-rich Rift Valley region even as the clock ticks towards the 2022 polls.