Deputy President William Ruto is facing opposition from unlikely quarters after disgruntled residents of the Mau vowed to revenge on him in the 2022 polls for deserting them during an attempt to evict them from the Mau Forest.
This came in the wake of the massive destruction of property that area residents woke up to after police officers descended on their properties on Sunday, October 6, in an effort to push them out of the Mau.
The Standard reported on Monday, October 7, that the police officers descended on an area identified as Sierra Leone, which was a shopping centre.
One resident, Geoffery Ngetich, was reported to have lost his life-long investment when the officers flattened his establishment from where he used to dispense fresh produce to Narok.
He tearfully narrated the pain that the area residents felt having woken up early to vote for the President and Deputy President in the 2017 General elections only to be abandoned in their hour of need.
"I want to tell the President, his deputy and all Jubilee leaders from Rift Valley that we are of no use to them now. We will pick our pieces and wait for them in 2022," he was quoted.
Another resident, Stanley Towett claimed that he had been among 51 people who were taken to the Deputy President's residence in Karen before the 2017 elections to talk about the Mau issue.
There, he alleged that the DP had assured them of their stay in the Mau, sentiments which he claimed were backed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
"Ruto said our issues had been addressed and we clapped and stood with him. Narok Governor Samuel Ole Tunai then took us to a hotel in Naivasha where he told us things had been streamlined and what remained was that we assure him of support," he stated.
Towett is among many other residents who were yet to come to terms with what they called 'betrayal' from their leaders who had promised to take care of their affairs.
The 60-day notice given for the residents to vacate the forest is set to elapse at the end of October.
