It is no secret that Deputy President William Ruto has set his sights on the Presidency in 2022. However, a big factor in that dream lays on the support he will get from the Rift Valley community.
The troubles now haunting Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter are no surprise at all. The MP's position regarding Ruto has been icy.
Keter has denied allegations that he presented forged Sh633 million Treasury Bills to the Central Bank of Kenya. What's more? It took more than 12 hours for him to be officially booked and for the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to lodge a formal complaint.
There is obviously more to this story than meets the eye, especially when it comes in the wake of Keter being stripped of his role as a National Assembly Committee chairperson.
The legislator himself criticised the manner in which the Treasury bills situation was handled. He says he was at the CBK on an invitation of Governor Patrick Njoroge.
The Deputy President is forgetting that Keter has a following both in Parliament and at the grassroots. That is precisely why he was voted to lead the Labour Committee, a role the DP says went against regional balance.
Sometimes politicians spend too much time on 'non-issues', giving credence to what others may describe as small fish.
Keter's woes, that those close to him say have hit him hard, are doing nothing but pushing him into the limelight. A day in politics can change much, and Keter has had a long day in cold corridors, feeling powerless.
Ruto may seek his help in the runup to the 2022 elections, seeing as Kenyans are unsure of Baringo Senator Gideon Moi's position in this game of cards.
Should Gideon seek the office on the hill, he may give Ruto a run for his money, scuttling chances of the DP garnering a big number of votes from the Rift Valley.
There have been talks that the Central community will automatically support Ruto, winning him even more votes. But again, there are no guarantees in politics.
So far, Ruto has no sure votes to earn him a landslide win. The only positive news for the DP is that the Opposition seems to be losing direction. Apart from that, his home turf of Rift Valley, which may have sounded promising, is slowly slipping away.
Moi and Keter are two issues Ruto needs to be thinking hard about. And locking the vocal Nandi Hills MP over alleged fake Treasury bills, may not be the way to go.
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