President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday June 1, sent an open warning to his Deputy William Ruto.
The head of state during the Jubilee party parliamentary Group meeting at State House, Nairobi openly told DP Ruto and Jubilee MPs, on the type of Presidential candidate he will support in 2022.
In a meeting that lasted 24 minutes, Uhuru told the second in command and the ruling party’s parliamentarians that he will pass the baton to an heir who supports and values his legacy.
He said he will support a candidate who will build on his agenda, a statement that has been viewed by many as a veiled warning to his Deputy.
The remarks suggest his 2022 options are wide open despite pressure from Ruto’s allies for the Head of State to throw his weight behind the DP.
It was also an open warning to Ruto to stop early political campaigns and support the President’s legacy projects if he has to bank his 2022 presidential ambitions on the support of his boss.
In May 2018, at the height of aggressive countrywide campaigns by Ruto, Uhuru also told his Nyeri turf that his 2022 presidential choice will shock many.
Ruto’s allies then threw tantrums at the President accusing him of trying to renege on an earlier promise that the DP would take over.
Speaking during a Jubilee Coalition Parliamentary Group meeting, a furious Uhuru maintained that there is no way he will rally behind anyone who will sabotage the agenda he has laid for the country.
MPs who attended the meeting held at State House in Nairobi said Uhuru warned that he will not dither from shoving away any politician who would undermine his leadership and national unity agenda.
“I will be happy to know that the person I will be passing the baton to is part of my agenda,” Uhuru told the 212 MPs.
The President’s remarks came after he enjoyed a night out with Opposition chief Raila Odinga after the Madaraka Day celebrations at State House during the day.
The duo arrived at the Nairobi CBD in the middle of the night and was seen inspecting the re-carpeting of roads by the Nairobi Metropolitan Service.
The remarks at the PG meeting attracted furious reactions from Ruto’s key ally, Soy MP Caleb Kositany, who said Kenyans have the constitutional mandate to elect their president.
The DP’s early campaigns have been seen as disruptive to the President’s agenda to build an enduring legacy.
Affordable housing, manufacturing, food security and universal healthcare are the four key pillars of the President’s legacy projects dubbed the Big Four Agenda.
Uhuru also has another nine-point agenda with Raila to cure the country’s recurrent challenges by embracing national unity as manifested by the handshake on March 9, 2018.
The BBI is expected to deliver that agenda.
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