President Uhuru Kenyatta has found himself on the firing line after aspirants from Jubilee vote-rich region of Rift Valley questioned his silence on accusations made against his Deputy William Ruto, reports the Star.
The aspirants said that Uhuru has not in any event defended Ruto on accusations leveled on him by sections of politicians who lost in the Jubilee primaries that he had an underhand in rigging them out.
They said Uhuru’s silence on the matter was similar to abandoning Ruto.
The aspirants are set to converge in Kericho this weekend and make their declaration dubbed “Sosiot declaration”.
Those trounced in the Jubilee primaries from Kalenjin land are expected to air their grievances during the meeting.
Last week on Saturday, 73 aspirants from across the county vying for various positions met at Lake Bogoria to draft some of the grievances.
Among the grievances was discontentment that Uhuru has not come out to defend Ruto against accusations that he engineered the downfall of some bigwigs from Mt Kenyans and Rift Valley regions.
“We were all unanimous President Uhuru was not treating Ruto well, especially because, while Ruto spent sleepless nights sorting out the bungled nominations, the President’s people have been busy accusing Ruto of all manner of things. This is unacceptable, a Kalenjin governor who attended the meeting said.
“This is the man [Ruto] who sorted out the problems. How is it that he is now being blamed and his boss does not bother to defend him in public?” added an MP aspirant from Nakuru County.
Some political bigwigs from Mt Kenya said Ruto rigged them out so that he can have it easy in Uhuru’s succession in 2022.
Kiambu Governor William Kabogo is among those who have blamed the DP for his loss at the Jubilee primaries.
But Ruto came out and defended himself saying he did not interfere with the nomination process and they should blame themselves for failing the electorate who have since decided not to vote them.
“Numbers speak volumes,” he said in response to Kabogo’s accusations.