In Summary
- The deputy president cautiously warned the President not to betray the Kikuyu.
- President Ruto commits to no ‘handshake’ with Raila as the talks set to commence.
- Leaders from the mountain allied to Azimio pour cold water on the five-day tour, terming it political.
In their fourth day of the mountain tour, the Deputy president Ragathi Gachagua cautiously warned President Ruto not to betray the Kikuyu.
“For the record the mountain is calm, and it is satisfied with the leadership of President Ruto so far. The mountain will continue being behind President William Ruto fully!
In this region once we have accepted you, unless you betray us because we hate betrayal. Betrayal we hate… and that is why when Uhuru Kenyatta betrayed you, we left him and came to you.”
He said while hosting grass root and elected leaders from the Mt. Kenya region on his fourth day of the tour.
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Perception of a Restless Mountain
Political analysts had the opinion that the mountain was becoming restless in disapproval of the regime. They opinioned it could be because of the high cost of living, broken promises of alienating poverty, improving agriculture in the region, job creation and improvement of the business environment.
This was further entrenched by series on street protests particularly in Nairobi that was affecting the regions direct business interests.
Emotively, a section loyal to the Kenyatta family felt the regime was treating their son Uhuru Kenyatta shamelessly with total disregard of his stature, the family and as a fellow son of the soil.
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There were also concerns of Ruto seemingly favoring his Chief Minister Musalia Mudavadi, delegating him duties otherwise meant to be performed by the DP Gachagua. He at some point had to clarify that he was not interested in touring the world, almost dismissing Mudavadi as a busy body.
Ruto promises Mt. Kenya that there will be no handshake with Raila
They disrupted Moi, Kibaki and Uhuru’s governments, arm-twisting them into power arrangements. This is hustlers’ government, there will be no power arrangement deal” Ruto said in reference to a rumored handshake with Raila for the Azimio side.
“Serikali saa hii ni ya mahustler, hapa hakuna handshake, hakuna nusu makate…” Ruto while addressing a crowd after the meeting.
Politically, under perceived pressure from international community, Ruto was seen to be welcoming the idea of working with Raila to achieve political stability in Kenya.
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Political leaders from Ruto’s back yard in the rift valley seemed to have had no much problem with the idea, with some encouraging it as an ideal situation for the bigger picture.
This as Gachagua’s team preferred a hard ball approach in ending the conflict.
Azimio allied leaders from Mt. Kenya pour cold water on the tour
Led by former Laikipia governor Ndiritu Murithi, the leaders from the mountain allied to Azimio poured cold water on the five-day tour, terming it political and not developmental.
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“Recently enacted Finance Act, worsens the situation for more than 3 million micro and small business in Mt. Kenya region” Ndiritu Murithi.
“They are on their own and acting as though they were elected by Ruto” Martha Karua added in reference to the regime.
“We are on our own” Jeremiah Kioni added in reference to Kenya Kwanza stand that high cost of living will not be an agenda of the scheduled talks.
