{UAH} Pojim/WBK: Gideon Moi, Isaac Join Forces Against DP Ruto, Governor Rutto to host KANU at Bomet rally | The Star
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Gideon Moi, Isaac Join Forces Against DP Ruto, Governor Rutto to host KANU at Bomet rally
THE battle for political control of the Rift Valley intensified yesterday, as Senator Gideon Moi teamed up with Governor Isaac Rutto to wrest the region's vote bloc from Deputy President William Ruto.
For a start, the two have scheduled a meeting tomorrow where they will discuss their plans, especially a visit by Moi to Bomet on Saturday. The Senator for Baringo and the Governor of Bomet are understood to have spoken several times in the last few days about the need for them to work together.
"The two have been talking and from now on they will involve each other in their plans. "They have shared a lot, especially to do with devolution," said a Kanu official familiar with the discussions.
The two are both planning to run for President in 2017 and their weekend meetings in Eldoret and Bomet separately seemed to have rattled the Deputy President. On Saturday, Ruto warned politicians opposing him that they will be crushed if they do not toe his line. On Sunday, speaking in Kalenjin, he told off Moi.
"You must accept to be led, even if your father led the country for 24 years. Stop dividing the Kalenjin," said Ruto in Kiplombe during a public rally. Sources within Kanu yesterday told the Star that the meeting between Moi and Rutto "will be basically to develop a nationwide - but inclusive – agenda".
"We have been invited for a meeting to take place tomorrow, though the agenda remains secret, what I know for now is that a nationwide agenda will be developed during the meeting," the senior Kanu official, who sought anonymity, told the Star yesterday. Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat confirmed that the meeting will take place tomorrow, and asked the DP not to panic.
"We are meeting tomorrow to strategies on our way forward. We are currently putting up a nationwide agenda for all Kenyans. Let the Deputy President not panic for now, we still support the Jubilee government, but, at the same time, he should know that we have expressed interest in the leadership of this country," Salat told the Star on the phone.
Salat said the Kanu brigade will visit the South Rift next week to sell their development agenda, reiterating that the party is now open for partnership "with all like-minded Kenyans".
Rutto's private secretary, Ben Siele, confirmed his boss was open to the talks. "Rutto is open and ready to engage in talks with any leader – be it Moi or Raila – with a view to changing the leadership in this country. Jubilee has strayed and failed to address the serious issues facing Kenyans," Siele told the Star.
It is reported that Gideon has identified Ruto's weaknesses in government and will be using them to attack the DP in the countrywide meet-the-people tours that he kicked off last weekend on the DP's home turf.
The issues include claims that the Deputy President has been reluctant to bring pressure to bear for better pricing of maize in the North Rift and tea prices in the South Rift, as well as his lack of steam to push for a whole raft of pre-election campaign pledges to the region. Recently, Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter said of the DP, "We have been calling on our brother and leader from down the tree.
It seems he does not hear us anymore, as he has remained silent. Maybe he found the fruits enough for him and our wait may be in vain". The vocal MP added: "He now speaks like his mouth is full of honey and he won't be climbing down the tree any soon, leaving us with no option but to cut down the tree".
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/gideon-moi-isaac-join-forces-against-dp-ruto-governor-rutto-host-kanu-bomet-rally
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