Deputy President William Ruto has faced opposition from an unlikely source as tempers around issues concerning the Mau Forest eviction flare, especially among legislators from the Rift Valley region.
The attack from Cherangani MP, Joshua Kutuny, is the latest in the intray of accusations from leaders in the Rift Valley who are not content with the DP's continued inaction over the Mau evictions.
Kutuny dared the DP and other senior leaders from the Rift Valley region to quit if they were finding the positions they hold too big for them.
He accused the DP of doing nothing for the Rift Valley people who voted him despite him occupying the second-highest leadership position in the country.
"Before we address other people in their role, we must ask these people. How far have you utilized the position to address issues that the people are facing?" he asked, directing the concern to the Deputy President and senior rift valley leaders.
He accused them of only going to the Mau to cry or when seeking votes instead of taking proactive decisions that would save people from forced eviction stating many had nowhere else to go.
This, he argued, is unlike the President Uhuru Kenyatta who he says is taking seriously the issue affecting members of his support base.
He intimated that the formation of the Jubilee ggovernment was based on the challenges of the two major communities forming the party.
Kutuni expressed that at the point of formation of Jubilee, Kenyatta's support base was most concerned with coffee, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's), while Ruto's base was more keen on maize farming issues and the Mau Forest.
"The President set aside a coffee fund, and we have seen him going to Nyamakima and Gikomba early in the morning to address any crisis there. The deputy president and other leaders never wake up in the morning to visit the people of Mau. They only go there during the election date," he lamented.
He also clarified that while he supported the conservation of forests, he was not happy with the way it was being conducted.
He further claimed that if the issue of the Mau is not well negotiated, it is going to break jubilee as a party.
Families are reportedly streaming out of the Mau forest as Kenya Forest Service officers continue trooping into the forest in preparation for the eviction.
