{UAH} Edmund/Pojim/WBK: Standard Digital News - Tough test for DP William Ruto as Kericho turns hostile
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Standard Digital News - Tough test for DP William Ruto as Kericho turns hostile
Tough test for DP William Ruto as Kericho turns hostile
By NIKKO TANUI and STEVE MKAWALE
Updated Thursday, February 18th 2016 at 09:52 GMT +3
Deputy President William Ruto received a hostile reception in Kericho, where South Rift leaders accused him of abandoning the region after Jubilee ascended to power.
Mr Ruto and his confidante, Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, received stinging criticism from the leaders, who complained that the Kipsigis community had been taken for a ride after President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto ascended to power in 2013.
In a charged meeting for leaders and professionals from Kericho County held at the Tea Research Foundation Centre, speakers also attacked the six MPs from the county accusing them of misleading the Deputy President. They accused Ruto of failing to ensure that the Jubilee administration fulfilled the pre-election pledges that it made to residents.
The DP was put to task by opinion leaders on why key projects such as roads, a referral hospital, technical training institutes and the construction of the historical Kapkatet Stadium had not taken off three years after he took office.
"We voted for you and President Kenyatta believing that our major roads would be fixed, our people would get a referral hospital and the youths would be equipped with skills at modern technical institutes but all we have been getting are empty promises and a few harambees here and there," Paul Chirchir told the DP.
On the plummeting tea prices, a small-scale tea farmer, Maendeleo Chepkwony, accused the Government of failing to intervene on exploitation by middlemen and the Mombasa Tea Auction cartel.
"In last year's bonus, tea farmers in South Rift had nothing to smile about since whereas their counterparts in Central Kenya were earning Sh40 per kilogramme of green tea as bonus, we had to do with Sh20. Mr DP, you did not say a word over the issue," he said.
Ruto was also on the receiving end over the issue of appointments in Government, which the leaders claimed favoured only one family in the county.
"Whenever we hear of a Government appointment, especially when the appointee is from Kericho County, only one family in Belgut has turned out to be the beneficiary. And now when it comes to electing our leaders like in the Senate by-election, a candidate from the same family is being imposed on us. Why is this?" posed Hilary Cheruiyot from Bureti constituency.
Distant relative
There have been claims in the county that the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) candidate Aaron Cheruiyot is a distant relative of Keter and this has caused murmurs among Jubilee supporters, who claimed that the party nomination was fixed to favour him.
AOccasionally, the DP turned to Keter to exchange a few words as the crowd of about 2,000 cheered the speakers for their brave talk.
At some point, the speakers told Ruto to his face that they would vote for the Kanu candidate Paul Sang as a protest vote against Jubilee, which had failed to acknowledge the overwhelming support it received from the region in the last elections.
The visibly angry speakers did not spare the six MPs from the county — Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi), Jackson Rop (Kipkelion West), Leonard Sang (Bureti), Joseph Limo (Kipkelion East), Justice Kemei (Soin/Sigowet) and Erick Keter (Belgut).
They accused them of being sycophants instead of playing their roles and canvassing issues affecting residents.
"Mr DP, the people sitting around you have let you down; they have turned into a cartel and sycophants who receive orders and instructions from one leader who claims to be the spokesman of the region," said Mr Chirchir. The speakers also took issue with Mr Chepkwony's administration, which they said had failed in the development agenda.
County Woman Rep Hellen Chepkwony received the wrath of the crowd that booed and forced her to cut short her address.
Responding to the residents' concerns, the DP admitted that the Government had not risen to their expectations.
Ruto dismissed talk that he had taken most of development projects to the North Rift, where he hails from, saying that was pure propaganda meant to spoil his relationship with South Rift residents.
He said it was sad that some people were undermining him politically in his Rift Valley backyard yet other regions such as Western, North-Eastern and the Coast were embracing him.
"I am not a leader who can be defined by where I come from, I am a national leader who has been appreciated by Kenyans all over and it's saddening to see people in my own political backyard spending their energy to undermine me," said Ruto.
Political brokers
He passed the blame to elected leaders, whom he accused of not being honest with him and behaving like political brokers.
s the leaders poured their hearts out, Ruto — who sat between Keter and Governor Paul Chepkwony — listened keenly as he took notes and received memoranda from the speakers.
Occasionally, the DP turned to Keter to exchange a few words as the crowd of about 2,000 cheered the speakers for their brave talk.
At some point, the speakers told Ruto to his face that they would vote for the Kanu candidate Paul Sang as a protest vote against Jubilee, which had failed to acknowledge the overwhelming support it received from the region in the last elections.
The visibly angry speakers did not spare the six MPs from the county — Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi), Jackson Rop (Kipkelion West), Leonard Sang (Bureti), Joseph Limo (Kipkelion East), Justice Kemei (Soin/Sigowet) and Erick Keter (Belgut).
They accused them of being sycophants instead of playing their roles and canvassing issues affecting residents.
"Mr DP, the people sitting around you have let you down; they have turned into a cartel and sycophants who receive orders and instructions from one leader who claims to be the spokesman of the region," said Mr Chirchir. The speakers also took issue with Mr Chepkwony's administration, which they said had failed in the development agenda.
County Woman Rep Hellen Chepkwony received the wrath of the crowd that booed and forced her to cut short her address.
Responding to the residents' concerns, the DP admitted that the Government had not risen to their expectations.
Ruto dismissed talk that he had taken most of development projects to the North Rift, where he hails from, saying that was pure propaganda meant to spoil his relationship with South Rift residents.
He said it was sad that some people were undermining him politically in his Rift Valley backyard yet other regions such as Western, North-Eastern and the Coast were embracing him.
"I am not a leader who can be defined by where I come from, I am a national leader who has been appreciated by Kenyans all over and it's saddening to see people in my own political backyard spending their energy to undermine me," said Ruto.
Political brokers
He passed the blame to elected leaders, whom he accused of not being honest with him and behaving like political brokers.
‎"I agree that we have not performed as per the expectations of our people but want to say that the people you elected have let you and me down and I apologise," said Ruto.
He said the road projects that the Government had pledged to initiate in South Rift were on course and contracts for some of the roads had been awarded.
"The construction of the Sotil-Cheborgei-Roret-Sigowet road and the Litein-Cheborgei road will begin next month when the Government will launch the first phase of the 10,000km road project," said Ruto.
He added the construction of the Premier-Taplotin and Kipchim-Ainamoi-Muhoroni roads were also on course and that the contract had already been awarded.
On appointments to Government that favoured one family, Ruto said he was not aware that some of the appointees were relatives of one of his close associates.
"We did appointments on merit and I had no knowledge about their family backgrounds. I am sorry if the appointees' turned out to be relatives of the official you are referring to," he said.
On the emerging political supremacy wars between him and a section of Rift Valley leaders aligned to Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, the DP told the South Rift region to be careful of leaders who are "taking them nowhere".
"I dissolved United Republican Party because I have an ambition and a plan for the people but what is the plan of those leaders who have been telling you that you are being misled?" posed the DP.
Ruto, who passionately appealed to the residents to vote for Cheruiyot, said it was important that Jubilee retains the Senate seat, adding that a loss would be a dent in his political career.
"The loss of the Bomet Nyongores Ward seat has led some people to begin questioning whether I really call the shots in South Rift. All eyes have shifted to Kericho, please don't let me down," he said.
Introducing the candidate to the crowd, the DP said he did not know Cheruiyot before he clinched the JAP ticket and only learnt about him from one of his daughters who gave him the candidate's telephone number.
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