Confusion in Eldoret after DP Ruto's new controversial order
The order to Buzeki comes a day after DP Ruto skipped a meeting with Uhuru
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DP Ruto has now asked Uasin Gishu governor aspirant Zedekiah Bundotich Kiprop alias Buzeki to drop out of the race.
He has insisted that the incumbent Jackson Mandago won the Jubilee party primaries and that he should support him for August polls.
“Waswahili husema asiyekubali kushindwa si mshindani. Buzeki should now withdraw and back Mandago,” DP Ruto told a crowd in Uasin Gishu.
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Ruto’s sentiments comes amidst claims from Mandago’s team that Buzeki is his project and that the later has been imposed on the people of Uasin Gishu.
The rivalry between Buzeki and Mandago has sparked heated politics in Uasin Gishu, Eldoret town in particular, where Buzeki enjoys massive support.
MPs allied to Mandago, led by Oscar Sudi (Kapseret) and Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills), had demanded that President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto publicly back the Governor and ask Buzeki to step down.
They said this was the requirement for them to guarantee support for Jubilee's re-election.
Mandago and the two MPs threatened to urge the Kalenjin community in Uasin Gishu to support the Opposition to protest against Buzeki’s bid.
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Sources said Buzeki had declined to attend a reconciliation meeting with Mandago and insisted he would not pull out of the race.
The businessman has erected huge campaign billboards in Eldoret town, an indication that he is determined to run the full course.
It remains to be seen whether Ruto’s endorsement of Mandago will change the political scene in Uasin Gishu or if Buzeki will still give him a run for his money in case he refuses to drop his bid.
Earlier, Mandago met held a meeting with leaders from the Kikuyu community in Eldoret. Among those who attended were MCAs Peter Chomba (Huruma) and Peter Muya (Langas) along with several elders led by businessman Joseph Keriri.
The meeting was meant to reach a truce between the leaders who have been engaging in bitter exchanges over the Kikuyu community's support for Buzeki.
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Jubilee Governor Candidate for Kiambu Ferdinand Waititu, who also attended, reportedly brokered the meeting on behalf of Mandago.
The DP, who spoke at Kapseret, said politicians who won the nominations were the people's choices and that their decisions must be respected.
Lat week after a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Nakuru governor Kinuthia Mbugua opted out of the race and vowed to support Lee Kinyanjui who won in the party primaries.
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