A section of Rift Valley leaders has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare his support for Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential bid.
The leaders want to know whether the agreement Uhuru had with Ruto during the 2013 general elections still stands.
According to Belgut MP Nelson Koech, it would be reasonable for the Head of State to reassure that his handshake with the NASA leader Raila Odinga has not altered the initial agreement the duo had.
"Unless the President comes out and pronounces himself on the agreement they have with the DP, and assures us as a region that he will not shortchange us, some of our supporters are asking questions," Koech told the Star.
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto"]
[/caption]
Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruyiot also reiterated that they (Rift Valley leaders) will not allow any amendments to the agreements that were already done before by the two leaders.
The legislators noted this while commenting on Siaya Senator James Orengo's statements made on Saturday which insinuated that the Opposition supremo is likely to take another shot at the Presidency in 2022.
"We have a strategy and it is part of what you are currently witnessing in the country. Raila is a visionary, he sees where most of us can't," Orengo exclaimed.
The Senate Minority leader's sentiments have raised questions among leaders most of them claiming that Mr Odinga's re-entry into active politics following his unity deal with Uhuru is likely to change 2022 politics thus the need for the President to assert Ruto's supporters that he still honours his end of the bargain.
On his part, Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen wondered why Raila is now engaging in political activities at the expense of bringing Kenyans together for the sake of unity and development.
Speaking on Monday at Moi Kapsowar Gild High School, Murkomen claimed that opposition leaders are using the handshake to push Raila's political agenda in 2022.
Murkomen alleged: "It is now becoming increasingly clear that the recent handshake is being used for a political agenda. What looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck is a duck.
"Odinga is telling us that the recent handshake is for the unity of this country, while in political rallies he is talking about 2022 politics. This means he is not sincere in this matter," Murkomen added.
However, Cherang'any MP Joshua Kuttuny called on the DP's supporters not to read too much into the handshake, affirming that Uhuru "is a man who keeps his word."
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga"]
[/caption]
