While it is sensible to applaud the apparent melt-down of the wall that divides the Kalenjin leaders (Ruto vs Biwott), one cannot help but inquire into the genesis of their feud in the first place. It is no secret that William Ruto has no time for the old school of Biwott-Moi and to some extent and even other Kalenjin or if you like Nandi leaders like Kosgey and Kirwa and that is not without reason. On the other hand, the old-timers believe that they are not done with the Kalenjin and none is ready to give up wagging the big rungu. Ruto's impatience is informed by the urgency of the new-blood to take over leadership. This conflict provokes two questions that beg for answers. Forgive the simplicity of these questions, but they may hold the key to unravelling the reasons behind the bad blood between Ruto on the one hand and the old folk on the other.
Question number one: Are their differences ideological or are they based on mere supremacy and turf conflicts. Were Ruto not enigmatically a contender for the presidency (whether he goes far or not is neither here nor there), could the opportunity have offered itself for one of the old players to mortgage the Kalenjin community to the incumbent government ,for much less selfish interests like state favours? Indeed, allow me to entertain a fanciful thought: does Ruto's apparent grip on the Rift Valley vote (seemingly without the Nandi, Keiyo and Tugen blocs) bode good or bad for the community's collective future?
Question number two: Whereas Biwott's group and Ruto's group are dancing towards each other, are the main protagonists (read Ruto and Biwott) really party to this gesture or have the MPs merely realised that the thunder was stolen from Ruto's schemes (and the wind taken from his sails) when the Nandi, together with Kosgey, made a rather brave about-turn the other day at Kapsabet and openly backed the Raila campaign? Are they waking up, or to put it mildly, are they privy to more than we know? Consequently, if the protagonists are hurrying to close ranks, what does this mean for the ODM-K election machine. Please understand this against the background that Mr. Biwott, the self-proclaimed Total Man, (a) has no time for Mr Kenyatta and (b) Mr Kenyatta's foiled scheme to pull Kanu out of the ODM-K honeymoon seems to play right into Mr. Biwott's large play-game. How would this help Ruto et al, since they seemed to have saved the ODM-K juggernaut from collapse by outwitting Mr. Kenyatta?
I would also like to ask a third question while being consciously informed of the Kalenjin philosophy. If these two factions are closing ranks, who is fooling who? Ng'o ne nyoonei tuiyeet ak ng'oomkong'natet? Who is willing to play second fiddle to another? Will Biwott climb down from his mogoiyweet for Ruto and conversely, will Ruto climb down from his Mt. Ararat and yield space to Biwott? While I could be dismissed as over-interpreting a simple gesture, please permit me to make a not-too-wise claim: That those alignments have largely been driven by financial considerations and nothing less. Each of the perceived camp leader is bankrolling MPs allied to them. Could it be that the coffers are dry(ing)? Maybe not, but the meetings are likely to take the Kalenjin voter for a ride...albeit closer to a very powerful voting machine. However, don't forget that the MPs have hitherto been benefiting from this division and mistrust of the main contestants in the feud- so long as camps were being sustained with heavy monetary consequences.
Finally, without giving away a hint of being a pessimist (chi ne ki ko bar soeet ko ang' kooro tany ne tuui ko mweei) I would caution us "tomo ke eesei ama tien Koilegei". It will not disappoint me if all these will add up to nothing more than another red herring!
Question number one: Are their differences ideological or are they based on mere supremacy and turf conflicts. Were Ruto not enigmatically a contender for the presidency (whether he goes far or not is neither here nor there), could the opportunity have offered itself for one of the old players to mortgage the Kalenjin community to the incumbent government ,for much less selfish interests like state favours? Indeed, allow me to entertain a fanciful thought: does Ruto's apparent grip on the Rift Valley vote (seemingly without the Nandi, Keiyo and Tugen blocs) bode good or bad for the community's collective future?
Question number two: Whereas Biwott's group and Ruto's group are dancing towards each other, are the main protagonists (read Ruto and Biwott) really party to this gesture or have the MPs merely realised that the thunder was stolen from Ruto's schemes (and the wind taken from his sails) when the Nandi, together with Kosgey, made a rather brave about-turn the other day at Kapsabet and openly backed the Raila campaign? Are they waking up, or to put it mildly, are they privy to more than we know? Consequently, if the protagonists are hurrying to close ranks, what does this mean for the ODM-K election machine. Please understand this against the background that Mr. Biwott, the self-proclaimed Total Man, (a) has no time for Mr Kenyatta and (b) Mr Kenyatta's foiled scheme to pull Kanu out of the ODM-K honeymoon seems to play right into Mr. Biwott's large play-game. How would this help Ruto et al, since they seemed to have saved the ODM-K juggernaut from collapse by outwitting Mr. Kenyatta?
I would also like to ask a third question while being consciously informed of the Kalenjin philosophy. If these two factions are closing ranks, who is fooling who? Ng'o ne nyoonei tuiyeet ak ng'oomkong'natet? Who is willing to play second fiddle to another? Will Biwott climb down from his mogoiyweet for Ruto and conversely, will Ruto climb down from his Mt. Ararat and yield space to Biwott? While I could be dismissed as over-interpreting a simple gesture, please permit me to make a not-too-wise claim: That those alignments have largely been driven by financial considerations and nothing less. Each of the perceived camp leader is bankrolling MPs allied to them. Could it be that the coffers are dry(ing)? Maybe not, but the meetings are likely to take the Kalenjin voter for a ride...albeit closer to a very powerful voting machine. However, don't forget that the MPs have hitherto been benefiting from this division and mistrust of the main contestants in the feud- so long as camps were being sustained with heavy monetary consequences.
Finally, without giving away a hint of being a pessimist (chi ne ki ko bar soeet ko ang' kooro tany ne tuui ko mweei) I would caution us "tomo ke eesei ama tien Koilegei". It will not disappoint me if all these will add up to nothing more than another red herring!
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