Kikuyus, Embus left out in Ruto power sharing deal

• May 12, 2022

Kikuyus, Embus left out in Ruto power sharing deal

By John Kamau, Editor, thingira.org (Email:thingiragema@gmail.com)

The populous Kikuyu community and their Embu cousins are the biggest losers in Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Coalition power sharing deal.

In the deal deposited with the Registrar of Political Parties on May 8, Ruto will give a huge slice of his government should he win the elections to Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress and Moses Wetang’ula Ford-Kenya’s though the two parties backed his presidential bid in the eleventh hour.

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, Kandara’s Alice Wahome, Kikuyu’s Kimani Ichung’wa and Kiharu’s Ndindi Nyoro, who have been eyeing the DP’s slot, have been left out in the power arrangement.

In the deal, Ruto will be the president, deputised by Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, while Mudavadi will be the prime minister.

Wetang’ula Ford-Kenya will provide the National Assembly Speaker while Pamoja African Alliane led by Kilifi governor Amason Kingi, who joined the coalition a week ago, will provide the Senate Speaker.  

The deal dated May 8 was signed by Ruto, Mudavadi and Wetang’ula.

Curiously Chama Cha Kazi leader, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, Justin Muturi‘s Democratic Party, William Kabogo’s Tujimbembe Party and Irungu Nyakera’s Farmers Party will get nothing in Ruto’s government since they did not sign the power deal.

There are reports Kuria, Muturi, Kabogo and Nyakera signed the folder holding the agreement, and not the agreement itself.

In the deal, Ruto also plans to reintroduce the position of Prime Minister as was contained in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which he vehemently opposed.

The document is signed by the same Ruto who went round the country saying BBI was a scheme by dynasties to share executive positions.

Also missing in the power deal is Machakos governor Alfred Mutua’s Maendeleo Chap Chap party, which joined the coalition recently.

The document is silent on the one man, one vote shilling, which Mt Kenya leaders have been pushing for, but Ruto seems hell bent on impoverishing the populous community which is blindly following him.  

But the document has a condition that for Mudavadi to become Prime Minister through a presidential executive order, he has to deliver 70% of Western Kenya votes to Ruto.

Indeed, the details of the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement read like a return on investment, reap-what-you-sow power sharing deal.

The elaborate primary document, drawn by Prof Kindiki, was deposited with the Registrar of Political Parties on Sunday night, just before the deadline for coalitions to outline how they will relate before, during and after the general election, as well as power sharing and government structures should they clinch the presidency.

In the power structure outlined in the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement, the presidential flag bearer position is reserved for United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party headed by Ruto. The running mate slot is also reserved for UDA, and particularly for the Mt. Kenya region, with Kindiki, a Tharaka, leading the race.

The Kenya Kwanza power deal allocates Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi the Prime Cabinet Secretary slot if Ruto clinches the presidency in the August State House race.

The National Assembly Speaker’s seat is reserved for Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula and his Ford Kenya party, according to the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement.

The Senate speaker’s slot is allocated to Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) led by Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi who defected to the Kenya Kwanza over the weekend.

The coalition agreement provides for a cabinet with 21 ministries that will be shared out in line with the pact.

In the Ruto power structure, Mudavadi and Wetangula will be allocated 30 per cent of the appointive government positions should Kenya Kwanza win in the August polls.

This includes the Prime Cabinet Secretary and 6 Cabinet Secretary slots, National Assembly Speaker and priority development projects in Western Kenya region.

To secure these plum slots, the coalition agreement schedule requires Mudavadi and Wetangula to deliver at least 70 per cent of the Western Kenya votes that will be cast in the August presidential race.

The five counties of Kakamega, Bungoma, Vihiga, Busia and Trans Nzoia, which is administratively under Rift Valley region but politically part of the Western region, have a combined total of 2,592,437 registered voters.

Part of the priority development projects negotiated by Mudavadi and Wetangula in the coalition agreement includes completion of all incomplete or stalled bitumen roads, 1,000 kilometers of new bitumen roads and resources to revive and modernise sugar factories such as Mumias and Nzoia.

The primary Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement has three founder parties; UDA, ANC and Ford Kenya, who shall be allocated Parliamentary leadership positions on pro-rata basis, depending on the number of Parliamentary seats won by each party.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, who ditched Azimio la Umoja One Kenya team for Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza has negotiated for the Senate Speaker slot, in the coalition agreement signed on Sunday night.

He also secured a political promisory note for his supporters’ appointment to top management positions at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).