Legislators allied to Deputy President William Ruto from Nyamira have found themselves on the receiving end after a section of local leaders criticized them of abandoning their electorate and engaging in early campaigns for the 2022 presidential race.
Lawyer Stephen Mogaka, who is eyeing the West Mugirango parliamentary seat, said MPs Vincent Kemosi (West Mugirango), Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango) and Kitutu Masaba’s Shadrack Mose had neglected their people so soon after they were elected and were now being used as spanner boys to insult interior CS – Fred Matiang’i.
The trio has recently been using political platforms to campaign for the DP and asking CS Matiang’i to shelve his ambition to pave way for Ruto.
The three have, on several occasions, been heard belittling the CS to an equivalent of a tea buying centre chairman, who cannot convince citizens to support his ambition having not done any tangible development in his Gusii region backyard.
“We have heard those legislators going round using our CS as a topic in every rally they hold calling him names and mocking their own son for a bowl of ‘soup’ from their ‘master’,” Mogaka told Kurunzi.
“It’s very shameful and disrespectful when they are being misused to fight their own son and brother and simply selling out their inheritance to foreigners their own benefit.
“That’s greed and illiteracy of the highest degree and I condemn the move with the strongest words possible, let them come to their senses before things go wrong for them.”
The advocate noted that the CS was a force to reckon with in the 2022 presidential race if he were to declares his intent to run for the country’s top seat and that their noise would not change anything.
“By any chance our son (Matiang’i) has not, by now, been heard anywhere in the country declaring his intention to run for president in 2022, why are the Tanga Tanga guys led by DP team developing ‘butterflies’ in their tummies? And I want to assure them that in any case the CS declares so, it will be a matter of confirmation at the ballot because his hard and good work speaks volumes.”
Mogaka asked the MPs not to speak on behalf of the Gusii community on which way to go in 2022 politics as they had not been mandated to so.
He instead asked them to stop early campaigns and focus on working for their respectful electorate as they were going against President Kenyatta’s order to stop early campaigns and focus their energy on development.
“The President clearly said that early campaigns should stop and people focus on development and working on the big four agendas and this is totally opposite and a show of disrespect to our president.”
Yesterday, during Ruto’s visit to Nyamira, eight MPs drawn from Gusii region made a declaration at Rigoma stadium to support the DP where he was fundraising for boda boda riders.
Led by Kisii Deputy governor Joash Maangi, the eight – three from Nyamira and five from Kisii County – vowed to ensure Ruto has enough support from the region in 2022.
The DP gave a personal contribution of KSh 2.5 million for the bodaboda Saccos in Kitutu Masaba constituency.
During the event, 2022 succession took center stage as the leaders present attacked the CS asking him to shelve his dream and work with the DP in 2022.
Matiangi has not declared his interest to run for the seat in 2022 but his perceived goodwill from the president and many Kenyans seems to be a big headache in the Ruto camp.
