Deputy President William Ruto has been warned against banking on Mount Kenya votes in his 2022 presidential bid.
Nyeri Town MP Wambugu Ngunjiri said residents from the vote-rich region do not owe the DP any debt, and therefore, he should not think he will get their support for free.
Bragging that Ruto cannot capture State power without Mt Kenya support, the MP stated that the DP must have a pre-election agreement with the Kikuyu community in order to be endorsed for the top seat.
"We cannot support Ruto just because he backed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017 without knowing what we will get in return," he said, in an interview with Sunday Nation.
Ngunjiri added: "While voting in 2022, we must know what is in store for the Kikuyu. If anything, we have the prettiest girl in the room in terms of votes."
There have been reports that Ruto will be supported automatically by the Mt Kenya due to his loyalty to President Kenyatta, who reportedly pledged to mobilise voters in the region to back his deputy for his overwhelming support in two elections.
A section of legislators from the region led by Kimani Ichung'wa (Kikuyu), Moses Kuria (Gatundu South) and their Kieni counterpart Kanini Kega have repeatedly assured Ruto that the Mt Kenya will vote for him to the last person.
"I can clearly say that all votes in Mt Kenya belong to one man, His Excellency Deputy President William Ruto. In 2022, we will vote him in right, left and centre," Ichung'wa said recently during a rally in Nandi County.