That more than half of the Rift Valley is firmly under William Ruto’s grip and any aspirant seeking to be elected in 2022 has to form an alliance with UDA is not in question.
Baringo Senator, Gideon Moi, therefore finds himself in one of the toughest election battles he has ever faced, since making a debut into elective politics in 2001 as MP for Baringo Central.
After entering a pre-election coalition pact with TNA in 2012 to form Jubilee Coalition, together with other parties and a subsequent capturing of power under the umbrella outfit, KANU and its leadership fell out with William Ruto over attempts by the DP to have the independence party dissolved in 2016 to pave way for the grand Jubilee Party of 2017.
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This was despite prior bad blood between Senator Moi and William Ruto, something that drew the two leaders even further apart.
In 2016, KANU entered an election pact with the newly formed Jubilee Party (after the dissolution of fringe parties that were part of the Jubilee Coalition) and has strongly supported President Uhuru Kenyatta’s agenda to date.
However, despite not having a following in his Baringo backyard and with threats of being deposed in August, Senator Moi is turning out to be a critical player in Raila Odinga’s book on how to be the next president. Both Mr. Odinga and Gideon enjoy a close relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
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Pundits argue, Gideon Moi continues to give One Kenya Alliance (OKA) its national image despite Mudavadi and Wetangula exits, plus, his presence in the alliance is not only good for optics but also very politically strategic for Raila Odinga.
Without the Baringo Senator in the alliance, Kalonzo Musyoka will cut a figure of an isolated tribal kingpin considering what dents Governors Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni), Charity Ngilu (Kitui), and Alfred Mutua (Machakos) have made on his Ukambani following.
The entry of Martha Karua as a principal and replacement to Musalia Mudavadi is also a boost for OKA.
“I’m happy to be with Martha Karua today. She is incorruptible. Have you ever heard that Karua has been involved in corruption?” Gideon poised to a rally in Machakos yesterday while receiving the Narck-Kenya leader into their formation.
