Deputy President William Ruto’s allies have declared that it would get “messy and nasty” when they take off their gloves to rescue their man from any further persecution.
They say Ruto’s boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, is persecuting his deputy to block his ascension to State House in 2022.
For instance, the DP’s lieutenants claim Uhuru ignored the law and locked the DP out of the National Security Council meetings even though Ruto is a member.
They also claim Uhuru directed that Ruto be locked out of the official residence of the DP in Mombasa as part of the onslaught.
“The persecution has been systematic but all through the DP has kept his cool. Soon our gloves would be off and it is going to be nasty. Enough is enough,” Belgut MP Nelson Koech said.
The DP’s allies did not, however, reveal their next course of action in their bid to save the DP from his political enemies.
Koech said the President started to unleash his anti-Ruto campaign immediately he was sworn in for a second term despite Ruto having stood with him in the twin 2017 polls.
“We have all along been pointing accusing fingers at other people but is now clear and rather obvious that it is Uhuru who is finishing his deputy,” Koech said.
Ruto has, however, denied any persecution by the President only saying that Jubilee Party, which he formed with President, had been hijacked by conmen, brokers and busybodies.
Citing Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe, Ruto said the individuals have edged him out of the management of the party in a scheme to deny him the ticket in 2022.
However, despite the DP putting on a brave face, his relationship with his boss appears irretrievably broken, with his allies saying Ruto is “nowadays a stranger in Jerusalem”.
In January, the DP, who was in Mombasa for scheduled meetings, was denied access to the newly-refurbished former Coast provincial commissioner’s official residence.
The house was converted into the DP’s residence in a bid to cut costs when the DP travels to the region.
The DP on January 10 looked for accommodation at English Point Marina in Nyali, after his personal effects were pulled out from the house “on orders from above”.
Opening up for the first time on the issue, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen claimed that it was the President who kicked his deputy out of the mansion.
“What became of Uhuru that today he chased Ruto from a house in Mombasa. He is the same person who has been ordering the arrests of anyone associated with the DP,” Murkomen said.
The former Senate Majority leader claimed that the President has betrayed the spirit of the Jubilee constitution and is now practising politics of deceit.
“Let us not sugar coat things for purposes of diplomacy, as a matter of fact, the President is persecuting his deputy and Kenyans are asking if that is the right thing to do,” Murkomen said in an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday night.
According to Murkomen, Uhuru has been sidelining his deputy, using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse for not “inviting him to very important meetings nor giving him any task.”
“It is very sad that the DP, without whom Uhuru would absolutely not even be an opposition leader, would be the one being mistreated after achieving what they wanted,” Murkomen said.
The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator tore into the President warning him that his legacy would not be about infrastructural projects but the unity of the country.
However, former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando denied that the President was fighting the DP but admitted the Uhuruto marriage is crumbling down.
The ex-lawmaker said that the Uhuru-Ruto pact was necessary but “ultimately unholy alliance replete with indecent indulgences, pretentious harmony and governance indiscretions”.
“Uhuru is not fighting Ruto. It is the circumstances of inherent contradictions in the formation of UhuRuto that have ripened,” Kabando said.
He said the Jubilee marriage was crafted to repulse ICC fabrications, end the Kalenjin-Kikuyu hatred, and in the process realise Uhuru’s goal to be President and Ruto quest for Number 2.
“It is good for the country that UhuRuto is falling. It was unholy alliance from the very start,” Kabando said.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu told the Star that Ruto is getting a taste of his own medicine.
“Whatever is happening to the DP is as a result of his greed for power and impatience to take over from his boss. In fact, were Uhuru a different kind of person, Ruto would be in a lot more trouble than he is now,” Ngunjiri said.
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi advised Ruto’s allies against using words that would thwart any efforts to have reconciliation.
“Using inflammatory words such as suggesting that the President is suffering from inferiority complex would make things harder,” Wamatangi said.