On 20 November 2018, Rift Valley politics turned into a fresh round of accusations after a group of MPs claimed that rebel legislators from the region had been recruited to frustrate Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential ambitions.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi singled out Alfred Keter of Nandi Hills, Joshua Kuttuny of Cherangany and Sila Tiren of Moiben, alleging that they were being used as brokers by Baringo senator Gideon Moi to work against Ruto in the Rift Valley.
Sudi further claimed that the three lawmakers had been making regular visits to the Moi family home in Kabarak to collect money, which he said was then used to undermine Ruto’s political plans.
He dismissed Keter, Tiren and Kuttuny as political failures who, in his view, were pretending to speak for farmers while actually doing political brokerage for Gideon Moi and the Moi family.
The attack was backed by eleven legislators from the region who addressed the press the same day and said the three MPs had been hired to weaken Ruto’s path to the presidency in 2022.
Among those who defended the Deputy President were MPs Caleb Kositany of Soy, Robert Pukose of Endebess and Kericho senator Aaron Cheruiyot, who described the trio as “cheap hired machinery” meant to derail Ruto.
Kositany also made a more serious allegation against Keter, saying: “The three politicians sent on this errand are known brokers, in fact Keter, who fashions himself as a crusader of the oppressed is a known criminal, facing numerous forgery and theft cases amounting to hundreds of millions of shillings,”
Other MPs who stood with Ruto included Nixon Korir (Langata), William Kisang (Marakwet West), Lodepe Nakara (Turkana Central), Moses Lesonnet (Eldama Ravine), Kangogo Bowen (Marakwet East), Sylvanus Maritim (Ainamoi), Nelson Koech (Belgut) and Japhet Mutai (Buret).
Gideon Moi, however, rejected the claims when reached by phone and said he did not want to be pulled into the row. He said the focus should instead be on the hardship farmers are facing.
“I don’t understand what they are talking about. The farmers are suffering and we need to come up with solutions on how to help end the recurrent problems they go through every year,” he said.
Kanu branch officials in Rift Valley, led by Paul Kibet, also told Sudi to stop blaming Gideon Moi whenever Ruto ran into political trouble of his own making.
The dispute came against the backdrop of other Rift Valley political fights over maize and Ruto’s regional strategy, including reports and commentary linking the same camp to claims about Congo maize and the wider 2022 succession contest.
