Former president Daniel Moi is believed to be on a revenge mission precisely against Agriculture Minister William Ruto for draining the Kalenjin vote towards the lakeside ODM candidate in last year's general elections bearing in mind that Ruto's current social stature in the community has eclipsed the Moi-Biwott- Mark Too axis considerably. Moi on the other hand is fighting a two-pronged war.
Besides fighting Ruto he is a common enemy among his kinsmen, the recent threat by the government to close down a local radio station (Kass Fm) was blamed on his unseen hand.
Moi is infuriated by the local media house for enlightening locals, and constantly referring to "Chepkeres," as he is popularly known in local dialect which translates to an invisible pest that irritates domestic birds. The move to close the station was preceded by Moi's statement in Sacho that local radio stations are seditious and bring forth ethnic animosity.
According to Ruto's henchmen many are convinced Moi grudge with ODM establishment is not a yesterday affair. They believe beyond reasonable doubt that the perceived rigging of last year's general elections was the brain child of the former president as he holds a perennial grudge againsj; Raila Odinga ever since he was involved in the 1982 coup, his evolvement in multiparty clamour, the Kanu split after Kanu NDP merger and more excruciating, the coronation of Ruto as Kalenjin spokesman.
Many believe the former president is a stumbling block on their way to the promised land and swear not to toe his line.
Although it is not clear what Ruto might have erroneously done to Moi, according to some locals Moi's hatred and actions against Ruto and ODM in particular are signs of the jealousy of a fallen and deserted general trying to resurrect from political oblivion. His detest for the ODM bandwagon is evident as he shuns occasions expected to be attended by ODM bigwigs in the region. Much conspicuous was his absence at William Ruto's father's funeral despite the deceased being his AIC church counterpart and the very recent funeral of the late roads minister Kipkalia Kones.
The community now feels independent from Moi and is charting its own future and many of its people claim Moi handpicked few egoistic people who amassed wealth for themselves at the expense of development.. It is imperative to note, that Moi and his people have enjoyed cordial relations ever since he was elected legislative council member for Rift Valley and it is until after the referendum that the community started drifting away from him.
He further widened the gap between him and the people after he threw his weight behind president Kibaki in last general elections. President Kibaki had hoped to reap a good chunk of their vote through his predecessor but came out empty handed. Locals feel Moi was around for too long and wanted to continue harnessing them. At the referendum he used to operate behind the scenes giving advice.
After the referendum gave birth to the ODM, Moi paused only applying his professional tactical intrigues to ensure one of his Nyayo sons scooped the then coveted ODM presidential ticket.
He abandoned the mission immediately Uhuru fled and ODM broke into two.
Many blame stagnation of development on the former regime and see Ruto's entry into the driving seat timely. As things stand now Ruto is sitting pretty on the mantle as any imposter is thwarted by his unwavering supporters.
Former agriculture minister Kipruto Kirwa and a former Keiyo South MP Nicholas Biwott tasted the pill after they aspired for a comeback but were destroyed prematurely on UDM and New Kanu respectively. Ruto first set foot in parliament in 1997 on Kanu ticket riding on "Ukweli wa Mambo" slogan and easily floored his political nemesis Reuben Chesire. He immediately identified himself with fiery backbenchers before Moi poached him to the government as assistant minister for internal security.
He at one point prior to 2002 elections punched a former ICDC Chesire at the precincts of State House after Chesire was suspected to be behind the calls by Sengwer sub ethnic group calling for the split of Baringo central constituency then under Moi's jurisdiction.
The Eldoret North MP and Musalia Mudavadi were joint beneficiaries of the Kanu split in 2002 electioneering period after the then vice president and minister for home affairs Prof. George Saitoti resigned to join LDP. Mudavadi took the vice presidency while Ruto took the docket. He consequently defied their path line after the referendum.
What many political pundits are wondering is that the community was not part and parcel of the presidency yet they got entangled in a long standing ethnic crunch between the Gikuyu and the Luo community. The Nagging community had one of their sons as statehouse for twenty four years and he did not deliver as they put it, how could they have benefited from their lakeside distant cousin in a shorter timeframe of five years.
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