By Phil Wesonga via FB
William Ruto and the big GEMA lie
I have read lots of commentaries on the just concluded Kiambaa elections. Almost each of them seem to be writing the same script; Ruto is snatching away Central from Uhuru! But is this reaally what is happening? Is Central really fighting for Ruto? Are people really seeing through the lens what they ought to in order to correctly pick out what is actually going on in Central? You see, what you watched (not saw) happening in Kiambaa throughout the campaign period from nomination to the voting day and after was so revealing in my view, so much that I do not know how come it isn’t so obvious to many. Consider the following:
1. At the nomination stage, was there any disagreement within the Tanga Tanga brigade pitting Moses Kuria wing Vs Rigathi Gachagua others (UDA) all of the Kikuyu tribe? Kuria had to be appeased or should I say ‘motivated’ by Ruto to withdraw his PEP candidate. Ruto was operating in the shadows preferring not to openly show himself.
2. Did you see any of the Kalenjin MPs actively engaged in Kiambaa, ostensibly to be the face of Ruto? To the best of my recollection, I only saw them a day after the winner was DECLARED. They appeared when the coast was clear.
3. Is it not correct that what we witnessed during the period of the Kiambaa by-elections was the clearest manifestation and display of a conflict among the Kikuyu nation pitting them against each other – on the one side a discontented people suffering the effect of economic hardship and therefore protesting (against ‘their’ government) and whose only interest is in inflicting ‘perceived injury’ to Uhuru, while the other wing more concerned about the political relevance of the region in the future and who understands this economic pain is being felt by every Kenyan. This is what I watched clearly in display in Kiambaa but many others preferred to see it in a manner that suited their reality – a Ruto Vs Uhuru showdown.
That Ruto and his RV honchos kept off, but only acted to fuel the division among the Kikuyu in Kiambaa by funding the feuds, says alot about Ruto’s strategy but also betrays what he already knows but would want to keep concealed – that the division in Central is not about a choice between him and Uhuru, but a dispute within a tribe. Ruto is just positioning himself to pick up the spoils from this Kikuyu feud and be a beneficiary of the conflict. His strategy is to FUEL it, pit them against each other but hide in the shadows allowing the rebels to do the dirty work and funding them.
Ruto’s grip if any, in Central, is fickle and really ineffectual at best. It’s a damned strategy that cannot and will not gain him the vote block he so desperately needs. This strategy he has adopted is self defeating because it pits one faction against the other, meaning one side seeks to beat the other side and so they cannot UNITE! Ruto is just successfully succeeding in splitting the Kikuyu votes that he badly needs, thanks to his so called strategists! Dangling the running mate bait won’t work either. The strategy these guys have adopted, and which I think is now too late to reverse, is a self inflicting injury exercise. Ruto has effectively cannibalised his perceived votes from central. The feud Ruto is fuelling can only end up in one side winning against the other – VOTE SPLITTING! And that was exactly the outcome of Kiambaa. Ooh, what a damned foolish strategy for Ruto.
And another thing is that when the time comes, those whom he has enlisted to do his bidding in Central shall come for their pound of flesh. As when the time comes, Ruto will have to give more than can possibly work in his favor – respond to and fulfill the demand that his running mate be from central. The rest of the country won’t be ready for that again.
Lastly, have you thought seriously about the Justin Muturi ‘spanner’ as being in the toolbox of Uhuru? That the Kikuyu in central is split, and that Uhuru is not intentional about uniting that vote block, his best strategy is actually to further scatter the votes. And what better ploy than to sponsor someone from the eastern region. This someone will then therefore combine with the larger political formation being crafted and earn itself a stake at the table but with its full rights. Uhuru is effectively hiving off the voting block that is the EM of GEMA. Expect to see Muturi having sittings with RAO in the period ahead
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