Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday added more fuel to the rivalry between him and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi after he endorsed a candidate to challenge the former President’s son in the upcoming 2017 elections.
In a meeting held at his Sugoi home in Uasin Gishu County, Ruto is said to have prevailed upon Mr Simon Chelugui to abandon his gubernatorial ambitions and instead face Moi head-on in the senatorial race.
Mr Chelugui is a Director in the Betting Control and Licensing Board.
According to sources at the meeting, Ruto made it clear that Senator Moi had to be 'tamed' and the only person to face him was Chelugui.
“The Deputy President assured him (Chelugui) that he will get all the support from the party. He was assured of a plum job in government should he fail to capture the seat,” the Nation quotes a source who preferred anonymity.
Mr Chelugui acknowledged that the DP made the appeal to him but claimed that he was yet to make up his mind over the matter.
“The DP made the proposal to me but I told him that we are going home to consult the people first. My aspiration for the gubernatorial seat has not changed,” Mr Chelugui said.
Ruto's move, however, sparked anxiety in the region with a section of area leaders faulting him for supposedly handpicking and imposing a candidate on them.
According to Historian Walter Chesang, who was quoted by the Standard, it was in bad taste for the DP to use his position to settle scores with the former First Family.
"What the DP is doing is using the innocent voter in Baringo to settle political scores with the son of the former President whom he sees as a threat to his 2022 presidential ambitions," he said.
Ruto has been holding a series of meetings at his rural home where thousands of residents drawn from various sub-counties have been hosted and treated to food and drinks as the DP seeks to solidify his command in the vote-rich Rift Valley region.
