Many politicians have cultivated relationships with each other that has helped strengthen their influence by feeding off each others prowess.
Politicians team up amongst themselves and also form pacts with financiers and close aides who help achieve a common dream.
However, politics is a dirty games and these alliances which are founded on personal interests often turn ugly.
Ruto - Uhuru
The biggest unexpected break up that caught Kenyans unawares is between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.
Ruto has never hidden his distrust for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), an outcome of the March 2018 peace pact between the president and Odinga.
The DP's camp fears that being sidelined from the government signals Kenyatta’s plan to go back on his promise to help Ruto ascend to power at the end of his term.
Raila - Miguna
ODM leader's former political strategist Miguna Miguna fallout with Odinga was dramatic and signalled deep underlying differences.
The relationship's first hurdle was when the lawyer published a book alleging that the opposition leader's close friends were engaged in corruption. He was pushed to the periphery but after the 2017 General Elections, the two appeared to have buried the hatchet.
The passion with which he pursued and executed the extra-legal swearing in of Raila as the ‘people’s president’ on January 30, 2018 brought them closer but that was the genesis of Miguna's troubles.
Since Miguna was ejected from the country, questions have been raised about why Raila has done little to help him return, despite his close relationship with President Kenyatta.
Ruto - Cate Waruguru
Laikipia Woman Rep Cate Waruguru ditched the DP's camp in June 2020 in a rather dramatic fashion.
For many months, she had criticised President Kenyatta's handshake with Odinga.
Waruguru said she was disappointed after Deputy President William Ruto broke his promises four times and had now opted to make a deal with Uhuru and Raila.
She told the deputy president that she was tired of engaging in politics and now wanted to focus on delivering Jubilee’s manifesto in Laikipia through President Kenyatta.
“He promised Mary Immaculate School money and a bus, he promised Rumuruti Catholic School a bus but never delivered any of those promises.
“He promised that the Nanyuki-Rumuruti Road would be upgraded but that hasn’t happened. The biggest question my people are asking is why these harambees aren't bringing development,” she spilled.
Uhuru - Wanjigi
A raid at the home of billionaire Jimmy Wanjigi in 2018 was the straw that broke the camel's back for the businessman.
The business mogul rebuked the police action against him and his family saying that he was an innocent man being falsely accused.
He then spilled the beans on how he had helped form the Jubilee government yet the same administration was maliciously targeting him.
“This is a home that this current regime of Uhuru Kenyatta knows. It is a home they have visited; it is a home they have eaten many many times. In fact, their government was formed in this home,” he revealed at the time.
His close relationship with Odinga was considered the source of his troubles with the government.
Raila - Aisha Jumwa
Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa baffled both friends and foes when she ditched Odinga in favour of DP Ruto in 2018.
Her shift in allegiance was surprising as it was not triggered by any known reason.
In her first public pro-Ruto pronouncement, she only accused the ODM Party of betrayal.
“They told us we are going to Canaan and we followed. Later they said that the Jordan was crocodile infested yet it is a sacred river. I am really praying to God for Ruto come 2022,” she stated at the time, attracting backlash from her party.
She was dewhiped from committees in the National Assembly after efforts to kick her out of ODM were held up in a court case.
Sonko - Uhuru
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was a loyal supporter of President Kenyatta even before 2013 and traversed the country during the campaigns.
When President Kenyatta was summoned to appear at the International Criminal Court, the governor caused a spectercal when he flew dances to perform outside the premises as the case was going on.
The two enjoyed a close relationship such that the head of state was Sonko’s speed dial and helped him get a good conduct certificate when he announced his intention to run for the gubernatorial position in Nairobi.
Fast forward to October 10, 2020, Sonko condemned the president, wondering why his heart had grown cold and allowed demolitions in Kibera and Kariobangi.
The statement had been preceded by months of the governor reiterating his support for the president, attributing the failures to those around Kenyatta, being cautious not to step on his toes.
"We are tired of your government. We respect you but we are not afraid of you, that is why we shall address the issues that affect the people," Sonko stated.
This outburst comes months after the president took over the running of the city, demonstrating his distrust in Sonko’s ability to handle responsibility of managing Nairobi.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/OaMLrWz1tXo.jpg?itok=kl5hq5vl","video_url":"
Kalonzo - Muthama
The nasty political tiff between former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama resulted in the latter’s exit from Wiper.
Those close to them intimated that their differences stretched from politics to business.
The former senator who recently joined Ruto’s camp decamped from Wiper in the run up to the 2017 General Election when Muthama stated that he would support Odinga and not Kalonzo.
Muthama was denied a chance to unseat Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua in 2017 when Infrastructure CAS Wavinya Ndeti was handed the Wiper Party’s ticket.
In 2007, Muthama is said to have played a decisive role in convincing Kalonzo to work with former President Mwai Kibaki.
Buzeki - Ruto
Zedekiah Bundotich Kiprop (Buzeki) fell out with Ruto in the run up to the 2017 General Elections when he lost the Jubilee nominations to Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago.
Buzeki refused to pull out of the race even after calls from the DP to have him step down and support Mandago.
The billionaire had helped finance Ruto's campaign but has since joined the Isaac Rutto-led (Chama Cha Mashinani) CCM.
He has been quietly building up grassroots networks through various community-based initiatives in Uasin Gishu and promised to give the DP a run for his money in securing seats in the Rift Valley during the 2022 General Election.
"They should prepare for a tough battle in Kapseret because we (Chama Cha Mashinani) are going to have candidates vying for all seats," he told the media earlier in the week.
