Deputy President William Ruto has been accused of instructing his aides to use a secret list of preferred candidates in the North Rift region in order to influence the Jubilee Party nominations scheduled for Friday.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago and Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi claim that the DP wants to gain control of the region's administration by having his own preferred picks win the nominations.
Speaking at a charged political rally in Eldoret, the two politicians stated that the DP's operatives were on a mission to grab land and steal public resources in the region by "planting friendly candidates" on the people.
Areas alleged to be top on the secret operatives' watchlist include Uasin Gishu's Governorship, Kapseret, Nandi Hills and Cherangani parliamentary seats in the region.
Sudi's main challenger for the party nomination is Stephen Yego while Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills) is facing off with the DP's former Communications Director Emmanuel Tallam.
Soft-spoken, billionaire entrepreneur Zedekiah Kiprop alias Buzeki is Mandago's competitor who the politicians suspect of working with the DP's office.
"We have alerted the residents of the plot and asked them to jealously guard the nomination results from the polling stations up to the county tallying centre We shall not accept rigging and we shall fight off to the end for justice to prevail," Sudi explained.
The Uasin Gishu Governor cast doubt on Buzeki's late entry to the race claiming that he was a project set up by his detractors.
"They have tried all means to coerce me into succumbing to their demands but when all proved futile, they sponsored a person to remove me from office," Mandago claimed.
The aspirants were undeterred in their accusations and demanded a free and fair nomination process.
