Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo In Eldoret Town.

IN recent past, many analyses of Rift Valley politics have only focused their attention on the future leadership of the embattled suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto, but lost sight on the rapidly changing pattern of the region’s politics.

The residents of this region are calling for a realistic change in stewardship of the community saying they are tired of childish politics of the likes of Ruto, Kutuny and Keter.

They have called upon Nicholas Biwott to come out full blast and take over the mantled of leadership of the community and guide to the future into working in harmony with leaders from other community.

The Kalenjin says they are tired of the belligerent leadership of William Ruto which they said is full of blamish and empty poltical slogans with no tangibke results.

The white color analysts appeared to have concentrated on issues commonly featured in the newspaper columns, but have lost sight on what is actually happening on the ground. These analysts portray Ruto, the Eldoret North MP as an untouchable and undisputed leader of the Kalenjin.

Surely these analysts who seemed to be operating from within the media houses, at times relying on information spread by discredited power brokers and rumor-mongers.

They should visit various parts of the expansive Rift Valley Province and have access to the fast class assessment of what is happening on the ground, thereby making their articles look like the work of “Paper Tigers’.

Politics of the Rift Valley is shifting the ground so fast, and come the year 2012 the likes of William Ruto, Joshua Kutuny, Charles Keter, Zakayo Cheruiyot, Benjamin Lang’at, Sammy Mwaita and others, all these MPs might find themselves not relevant anymore.

There is an upsurge of the new crop and seemingly unstained leaders. They are arguing that the injection of fresh blood into the region’s politics would bring some sanity to the region’s politics. And bring to into end the present politics of confrontational and unpredictable shifting to a new era. This will bring to an end the tribalism politics of amorphous alliances such as KKK and others.

The outcome of the August 4 referendum voting is a testimony and an indication of the shape of things to come. Joshua Kutuny became one of the causalities when he suffered humiliation defeat in his Cherangany constituency despite being right inside the Red camp. Kutuny constituents overwhelmingly voted for the Greens.

In the neighboring Eldoret North Constituency, William Ruto squeezed a narrow win over the green, but the insiders attributed his shaky victory to the alleged excessive intimidation of non-Kalenjin voters by the marauding bands of Nandi youths who went around threatening non-Kalenjin with eviction if they voted for the Yes Camp.

Ruto’s constituency is a cosmopolitan parliamentary electoral area with more Luhyia,Kikuyu and Luo votes, which are slightly edges those of the Kalenjins. And even among the Kalenjins themselves there is a sharp division between the wealthy farmers most of who are from Keiyos Tugens,Marakwets and the Nandis. The Keiyo’s and Tugens, most of them who were the supporters of the former MP for the area, late Reuben Chesire.

The result of the referendum voting show that Ruto himself is standing on a very precarious position in his own Eldoret North Constituency, and if in the and in the event of him ditching the ODM, and non-Kalenjin aspirant with the national political outlook could easily oust him. I am talking of some one of Francis Atwoli or Nicholas Bowott’s caliber whose appeal will sell through the town’s workers could be the next MP. Alternatively the good idea should be that of grooming another strong Nandi aspirant who will win the Luhyia,Kikuyu and Luo votes could see Ruto biting the dust.

Unfortunately, the former Keiyo South MP has already made up his mind of contesting the Elkeiyo/Marakwet County Senate seat.

The current battle line have been drawn in the Rift Valley Province pitting MPs who support the suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto against those supporting his political rival the Prime Minister Raila Odinga.In the past elections.

Mr Odinga enjoyed massive support in the Kalenjin, but his working relations with his deputy in the ODM hierarchy William Ruto and his gangs of Kalenjin MPs soured shortly after the formation of the grand coalition government over the latter described a raw deal in the distribution of Cabinet posts. Residents of the South Rift complained bitterly that the ODM leader had exhibited favoritism towards thgeir cousins from the North the Nandis with three cabinet slots, while giving the Kipsigis only one with two Asistant Ministers and yet the Kipsigis gave Mr Odinga close one million votes in the 2007 general election in comparison to Nandis 230,000.

The dispute was over three ministers, namely William Ruto, Henry Kosgey and Dr Sally Kosgey who are all members of the Nandi sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjin.The Kipsigisi harvested only one cabinet slot that which went to the late Kipkalia Kones and later to Franklin Bett following Kones death in aircraft crash.

The dispute has, however, been overtaken by event, especially by the political wrangling over the eviction of the Kalenjin illegal settlers in the Mau Forest Complex, one of the most important water tower in the country. Ruto and his friends have turned the heat on Raila blaming him for being responsible or the eviction of their people. What they Ruto oasis could not explain to the satisfaction of their followers is the fact Ruto is a senior member of the cabinet where the decision to force illegal settlers out of Mau Forest were deliberated and decided.

Mr Odinga, however, is still enjoying the backing of four Kalenjin Ministers and a host of MPs. These are Henry Kosgei {Industrialization} Dr Sally Kosgei {Agriculture} Prof. Hellen Sambili {East African Community}, Franklin Bett {Roads}. The MPs included Magerer Lang;at {Kipkellion},Dr.Joyce Laboso {Sotik} Mrs Beatrice Kones {Bomet} Prof. Margaret Kamar {Eldoret East}.

Odinga is also controlling the votes in the South Rift region. But only if the Kalenjin and the Maasai who supports him could join and out their act together, he will be still be a power to reckon with in the Rift Valley.

A cross section of Kalenjin opinion leaders as well as professionals and civic ldears appeared to disapprove William Ruto’s leadership style contending that it is full of excessive arrogance, empty rhetoric’s as well as political deceits and blame games. Ruto’s leadership, they say is offering no tangible development strategies. They viewed Mr.Odinga as a serious reformist and reliable development partner.

Coun. Nicholas Tum of Kericho Municipalty said some the Kalenjin politicians were following Ruto blindly,but would soon regret. They would soon find themselves isolated and shut outside the next government.

Tum strongly condemned the group of 30 civic leaders from Kericho and Bomet Countries who last week issued a joint press statement denouncing the unswerving support to Mr Odinga by the Road Minister Franklin Bett.

Tum added the Minister was right. He is one of the people in our region with the vision for the future and as such we must give him our unqualified support.”Those hell-bent on rocking the ODM boat must leave the party now and we shall teach them the lesson that they will live to regret.

He said Ruto is misleading the Kalenjin community simply because his egoistic politics. He has spokesman millions of words, but nothing has been put into practice. He has been a member of the cabinet that made decision to evict the illegal squatters out of the Mau Forest, but never uttered even one single word in the opposition to the government decision, But when he speaking outside the government embark of his usually cheating antics, which are full of contradictions.

Howe can one man Raila Odinga became a stumbling block to Kelanjin development, and yet in the same government there are more than five Kalenjin cabinet members/ Is Ruto really telling us the truth? And how low is the community going to rely on these kinds of rhetoric’s which are nothing but pack of lies? Tum asked.

In Eldoret, a group of young Kalenin technocrats challenged Nicholas Kiprono Biwott to come out and lead the community. He is an experienced and moderate leader who can easily work with leaders from other communities for the best interest of all Kenyans.

The group led by Ezekiel Bitok appealed to Biwott to join his forces with the UDM and give the community the right direction. We need Biwott badly. He is the only Kalenjin who is experienced and with the wealth of experience who can step into the sh9oes of the retired President Daniel Arap Moi.

One Kennedy J.Lagat said the Kalenjin needs someone who is cohesive enough wh9 can cultivate good relatiu9ons and friendship with the neighboring and even inspire the community to mend its fences with its Esther-while rival communities for the benefit of all. Ruto and his team are only serving selfish interest, but with no regard to the people welfare. They can go making noise and cheating people here and there, but will achieve nothing good for the Kalenjin even if they remain in Parliament for another twenty years. The politics of Ruto and his friends is suspect and based on jealously and childish way of handling sensitive issues.

Biwott is the patron of the National Vision Party of Kenya, while Lt. Gen {rtd} John Koech the former deputy CGS is the national chairman of the UDM. Both parties appeared to making major inroad in both Southern and Northern part of the Rift Valley.

Kanu still has small patches of support here and there, but ever since its national chairman the Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta allegedly abandoned it for the PNU, it following has dwindled. Uhuru has also refused to vacate the chairmanship something which seemed to hurt KANU most.

Ruto addressed a series of political rallies in the South Rift at the weekend where the attendance appeared to have fizzled and only a paltry distraught looking crowd attended his rally at

At most of his weekend rallies in the South Rift, Ruto accused the Land Minister James Orengo for delaying in resettlement of Mau Forest evictees and internally displaced persons. He alleged that the Land Minister is with holding Kshs 3.6 billion meant for the resettlement.

He said after the eviction of Mau and Embobot forests, the Kalenjin MPs sought for assistance from the government. To resettle the landless people. The government gave Kshs 1.6 billion for the Mau evictees and another Kshs 2 billion for the IDPs. In total about Kshs 3.6 billion was given to the Lands Ministry for this purpose.

But things have so far turned nasty even for the Kalenjin leaders. In a recent statement the chairman of the evictees Mr Phillip Ng’eny demanded to know the whereabouts of the Kshs 6 million raised during harambee fund drive organized by the Kalenjin MPs to assist them.

But Ruto said the money was only Kshs 5 million and it was given to the Red Cross Society of Kenya to continue with the work they were doing to assist the evictees. Ruto alleged that even PNU is part of the scheme that caused him present woes. He said he became the target immediately he started defending the retired President Daniel Arap Moi from vengeful and harsh Narc by PNU and government.

But a group of politicians in Kericho countered these claims by saying that some f the Kalenjin leaders who were shouting the loudest were responsible for the IDP and should be taken to the Hague and prosecuted for human right violation.”These are the same people who planned the executed post election violence of 2007-8.,”

Ends