Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni on Monday, January 22, opined that President William Ruto has lost the support of Mt Kenya residents over unpopular policies, which he stated will make the Head of State lose his status as the region's preferred presidential candidate in the next general election.
Speaking during an interview on Spice FM on Monday, Kioni referred to the criticism he faced from fellow coalition members such as Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai that there were no demonstrations in Mount Kenya when the opposition called for nationwide demos.
The former Ndaragwa MP claimed that based on the current political temperatures, the opposition was likely to benefit from the rage being felt by Mt Kenya residents in that, scores of the region's residents who voted for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the last presidential election will volunteer to be agents for Azimio.
“I ran in 2007 at a time when I had little resources. There are people who come to me to say that they appointed themselves to guard my votes when they discovered I had no agents. That is how it is going to be in Mount Kenya in 2027.”
As such, Kioni expressed his firm belief that Mt Kenya will be the voting bloc that will play the decisive role in hounding President William Ruto out of office in 2027.
“Let me tell you that even though they may not take part in demonstrations, the people who will force the guy (President Ruto) out, will be Mount Kenya. The percentage of people who have said enough is enough is beyond what we had imagined,” he stated.
Kioni stated that the current regime had become so unpopular not only in Mt Kenya where he garnered over 3 million votes, but across Kenya in general.
He stated that mismanagement of the government had led to the regime becoming unpopular across the country.
The former Ndaragwa Member of Parliament added that macadamia and coffee industries have been greatly affected since the current regime came into power.
On the aspect of disunity within Azimio, Kioni advised the Azimio membership that any kind of disunity would only benefit Kenya Kwanza.
“Anyone of us who wants to break out and think that you can do it alone, you want to give William (Ruto) more time,” he added.
Mt Kenya has recently experienced a political dilemma over who is the region's kingpin with a supremacy battle brewing between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
Over 15 members of parliament from the ruling UDA party have endorsed Ndindi Nyoro to replace DP Gachagua as UDA running mate in 2027 with the plan being for the legislator to eventually replace the Head of State in 2032.
