Kanu Chairman and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has defended his move to front several people from his party to be part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Cabinet.
He says he wants to steer Uhuru’s legacy by giving him people who he can rely on to perform exemplarily in their posts as Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries.
Moi who spoke to the Star on phone admitted that he has indeed presented several names to the President for consideration as he picks his next Cabinet.
“Kanu settled on names that will represent the face of Kenya,” said the Senator who is positioning himself to take over from Uhuru in 2022.
But this is will not be a walk in the park as he faces stiff competition from his nemesis Deputy President William Ruto.
The two are bitter political rivals who have declared their ambition to vie for Presidency in 2022. They have taken on each other in the past.
Moi said that Kanu is playing a critical role in building a legacy for Uhuru unlike other politicians who are only working towards their 2022 ambitions, a statement that was indirectly referring to Ruto.
“It is not an easy juggle, especially when our competitors care very little about the President’s legacy but are stuck [on pursuing] their blinding 2022 ambitions.”
In a strategy to tone down Ruto’s influence, Moi is said to have appointed Ruto’s critics including former Meru Governor Peter Munya and former Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto, the CCM leader.
The Kanu Chair has also appointed former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau to take care of his ambitions in Central Kenya come 2022.
Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat is also among those who have been proposed for appointment to the Cabinet.
Salat said since he comes from Bomet just like Rutto, Uhuru will decide who among them will be picked.
“The buck stops with Uhuru,” said Salat.
Uhuru has personally declared to support Ruto in 2022. But with the scion from the former President Daniel Moi; the two leaders from Rift Valley will be in for an intensive campaign given they both have the financial muscle to power high-end campaigns.
Pundits have warned that the son of the former President cannot be dismissed especially in the Rift Valley because he commands quite a huge following in the South Rift.
However, others insist that Ruto is a force to reckon with in Kenya’s political arena given the DP’s post he is currently in and his style of doing politics.