On 19 November 2018, a fresh political fight broke out in the Rift Valley after eleven MPs accused three of their colleagues of being used to undermine Deputy President William Ruto’s 2022 plan.
The dispute followed a Saturday push by Alfred Keter of Nandi Hills, Joshua Kuttuny of Cherengany and Silas Tiren of Moiben, who wanted Ruto probed over the maize crisis and the subsidised fertiliser scandal. Their demand drew a sharp reaction from other Kalenjin legislators, who dismissed them as “cheap hired mercenaries”.
Caleb Kositany of Soy, Robert Pukose of Endebess, Aaron Cheruiyot of Kericho and other allies said the three MPs were not advancing farmers’ interests. Instead, they accused them of trying to derail the Deputy President’s presidential ambitions.
Kositany launched a personal attack on the trio, saying: “The three politicians are known brokers. In fact, one of them, Alfred Keter, who fashions himself as a crusader of the oppressed, is facing numerous forgery and theft cases amounting to hundreds of millions of shillings.”
He added: “The three dimwits, despite being MPs, have not authored any single solution to help farmers. We know political distractors of the DP have failed to contain him.”
He also claimed the lawmakers were moving around the region to “slow Ruto at home to create an impression that he’s having a problem — that’s further from the truth”. According to him, they were presenting themselves as defenders of farmers while failing to raise the same issues in Parliament.
Keter and Kuttuny rejected the accusations. They said they were focused on the complaints raised by farmers and insisted they were not being used by Ruto’s opponents.
They also maintained that Ruto himself should answer the “weighty maize scandal allegations”. Kuttuny said: “The DP himself needs to come out and pronounce himself on this grave matter affecting our farmers. MPs who called us names and yet they survive on hand-outs can’t tell poor farmers anything.”
He added: “It’s shame that the leaders who were elected to Parliament by farmers have now turned their backs on them. We have no time for people who only speak to massage the ego of their master.”
Keter said the three lawmakers had raised legitimate concerns and were not making empty claims. “It’s shocking. Our colleagues are attacking us, instead of coming up with a response. If we’re wrong, they should prove it,” he said.
The exchange exposed growing tension inside Jubilee’s Rift Valley bloc as succession politics around 2022 continued to sharpen divisions and counterattacks.
