Kanu leader Gideon Moi’s network of Rift Valley supporters is threatened with disintegration ahead of the 2022 polls.
That all is not well in the camp of former President Daniel arap Moi’s son was evident Monday when Cherang’any MP Joshua Kutuny accused him of “not having the interests of the people of Rift Valley at heart”.
And two influential members of his party – Emurua Dikir MP Johana Ng’eno and West Pokot Governor John Lonyangapuo – are already warming up to his archrival, Deputy President William Ruto.
Ng’eno has publicly declared that he will henceforth support the DP. According to him, the mantle of leadership will head to Nandi in 2022 through Ruto and thereafter to the populous Kipsigis.
Gideon, who represents Baringo in the Senate, is among politicians hoping to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kutuny said he thought Gideon “is better than the DP but he has turned out to be a wolf in a sheep’s skin”.
The vocal legislator and fierce critic of the DP told the Star yesterday: “Gideon is now an enemy of the people of Rift Valley. He is identifying civil servants especially CEOs and managing directors from the region then engineering their sacking on the basis that they are allied to DP.”
Kutuny is the face of Jubilee’s Kieleweke faction in the expansive Rift Valley.
The genesis of the falling out between Kutuny and Gideon is the changes made at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority.
Both had agreed that Luka Kimeli, the former Kura managing director and a Cherang’any constituent, be confirmed as the substantive director general.
However, Gideon, according to Kutuny, went against the deal “which had been endorsed by the President” and instead influenced the appointment of Philemon Kandie to the post. Kandie is from Baringo.
“We met and agreed that Kimeli will be confirmed but I was surprised to see a different name. Gideon wants to eat the fruits of Kieleweke yet he is a passive member. In fact, he has not participated in it but now wants to be the one controlling our plans,” he said.
“This was the point of departure between me and Gideon and we will deal with him and his Kanu if this is his style of leadership.”
Kutuny also accused Moi of engineering changes at the Kenya Power board which saw, among others, former Nandi Woman Representative Zipporah Kering sacked.
“Gideon has been identifying Kalenjins who are perceived to support Ruto then he sacrifices them so that he gets to appoint those who come from his home county and who are loyal to him. Going forward, we will not allow anyone from Rift Valley to be removed,” the MP said.
He said that despite his fallout with Gideon, he will not back Ruto. He declared he will continue supporting Uhuru and Raila.
Tiaty MP William Kamket, a close ally of Gideon, dismissed Kutuny, saying what happened “is a case of a deal gone bad”.
He alleged: “Kutuny took Sh15 million from Kimeli to secure his confirmation as the director general. The man was not confirmed because he did not meet the qualifications.”
He accused the Cherangany lawmaker of politicising the matter and blaming it on Gideon.
“We will not accept intimidation. Let him go. His problem is promising what he cannot deliver. Why would Gideon instigate the sacking of people? Gideon has no time for such,” Kamket said.
On Friday, Ng’eno said the Kalenjins supported President Moi, who died in February for 24 years and it is now the turn of Gideon to support Ruto.
“We supported Moi such that he would command us to sing and when he said we lie down, we would do so flatly and we could swing out the Kanu one finger sign and those who dared to show two fingers, they would be chopped,” he said.
He said he joined Kanu on his own volition. “It is only Mzee Moi who knew what we discussed. Now that I have decided to support Ruto, I don’t need to seek permission from any quarter.”
On the fallout between Uhuru and Ruto, Ng’eno said the President would soon be haunted for abandoning the DP.
He predicted Ruto will have the last laugh. He likened what is happening between Uhuru and Ruto to a man who marries and after having 10 children chases away the first wife and the children.
He replaces the wife with concubines who already are mothers.“The first concubine is Kanu and others ODM, Wiper and CCM. Now the children who came with their mothers are now giving him a headache. He is about to reach out to the first wife who he chased away without any mistake. But we will not go back,” Ng’eno stated.
Already Kanu has written to Lonyangapuo and a number of MCAs to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for their dalliance with the DP.
In June Lonyangapuo scoffed at former nominated Senator Zipporah Kittony and Senate Majority leader Samwel Phogisio for instructing MCAs and some leaders to instigate revolt and animosity in the county.
Lonyangapuo, the only Kanu elected governor and Pokot spokesman, is seen as a Ruto sympathiser. He has pledged to rally behind Ruto in the 2022 presidential contest.
Moiben MP Silas Tiren, who has since abandoned the DP to work with Gideon, decried the fallout between Gideon and Kutuny.
“I don’t see a problem here. The board (Kura) said Kemeli did not meet the requirements and we should look at this thing from that perspective. Kemeli has not been sacked,” he told the Star.
The latest troubles in the Gideon camp are compounded in the populous South Rift by people questioning his ability to find a lasting solution to the Mau evictions using his close connections at State House.
The senator has been quiet as local leaders and those allied to the Deputy President condemn the evictions and mobilise resources for the victims’ resettlement.
This silence is viewed as the reason Isaac Rutto, the firebrand leader of Chama Cha Mashinani has taken a low profile and shunned any public appearances with the Kanu leader.