This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
Deputy President William Ruto has been warned against 'political cons' who are pretending to back his 2022 presidential bid, but their only aim is to enrich themselves financially.
According to the Rift Valley Council of Elders, led by their patron Gilbert Kabage, some political brokers have been visiting Ruto at his homes in Sugoi, Uasin Gishu, and Karen in Nairobi in the recent past.
Mr. Kabage cautioned that these political brokers do not have Ruto's best interests at heart and are only keen on enriching themselves, which could derail his political ambitions.
He further stated that the political brokers are misleading Ruto and will negatively impact his 2022 presidential ambitions.
Mr. Kabage also warned that the political brokers will jump ship after meeting their financial or political needs, and most of them are just masquerading and have nothing to add to Ruto's presidential bid.
The elders made these remarks less than a month after Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri led a delegation of Kikuyu leaders to DP Ruto's Sugoi home, where they discussed Ruto's 2022 presidential bid.
However, the Kalenjin elders have now claimed that Mr. Ngunjiri is a self-seeking politician and warned him to stop claiming that he speaks for the Kikuyu community living in the Rift Valley.
Mr. Kabage stated that Mr. Ngunjiri and the leaders who accompanied him do not speak for the Kalenjin community, and the future of DP Ruto's house will be influenced by people he brings inside.
Another elder, Peter Koech, stated that Ruto is his own man and will not depend on any endorsement from political bigwigs to clinch the presidency.
He added that Ruto was the man behind President Kenyatta's campaign in 2013 and 2017 and Raila Odinga's 2007 presidential campaign, and he does not require any endorsement from the bigwigs as he already has the support of the people at the grassroots.
During the same event, the elders challenged President Kenyatta to declare whether he still supports his deputy's bid for the presidency in 2022 as he had promised in 2013.
