President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. [Photo: standard]
The rich Mt Kenya vote block seems to be slowly renegading on its promise that they will truly support Deputy President William Ruto in 2022.
President Uhuru Kenyatta entered into a pact with Ruto in 2013 where the latter would support Kenyatta for 10 years as his deputy.
Kenyatta would then handle over to Ruto.
Though DP Ruto supporters had been sceptical of Mt Kenya promise that they would return the favour, politicians from the region assured of their support.
"Mt Kenya is notoriously known to support their own when it comes to the presidency. They can't support an outsider," a close ally of Ruto had been quoted before the 2017 elections.
But Kenyatta backers said Ruto had stood with their son all through and they would see to it that the larger Mt Kenya vote basket is handed to him when President Kenyatta retires.
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria have gone on record assuring the DP supporters that 'they will not betray Ruto'.
Latest voices, however, seems things are changing quickly and the region might dump Ruto come 2022.
It started with moneyed Kiambu politician William Kabogo who told off the DP over 2022 deal saying Mt Kenya voters are not 'wheelbarrows to be pushed this way'.
And Nyeri MP Ngunjiri Ndirangu has joined the fray saying there is 'no debt to be paid by the region's voters'.
In a long post, Ngunjiri dismissed Kuria's post saying there is nothing that bids the region to vote for Ruto in 2022.
"What I am saying is that whereas I agree on Moses Kuria on some things, I disagree on others. Most importantly, my vote - and that of those I can influence - will not depend of betrayal or paying debts. There's no such thing in politics," Ngunjiri said.