In the run-up to the last general election, Kutuny and former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter stuck with Uhuru Kenyatta’s Kieleweke wing of the Jubilee party much to the chagrin of William Ruto’s Tanga Tanga wing. In the 2022 elections, Kutuny defended his seat on the Jubilee Party ticket and got 5,312 votes against Patrick Simiyu of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K), who managed 26,748 votes
By The Weekly Vision Team
President William Ruto’s appointment of former Cherengany MP Joshua Kutuny as Chairperson of the Kenya Copyrights Board (KECOBO) caught many people by surprise due to their history. If there is one appointment that has shocked many, then it’s that of Mr Kutuny considering that he was a serious critic of the president in the run-up to the 2022 general elections.
Analysts, however, say that the appointment is meant to achieve certain political agendas to the benefit of the president. Many will remember how Mr Kutuny first fell out with William Ruto during the 2013 elections after William Ruto allegedly sponsored a candidate to run against him in Cherengany.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta later made Kutuny his political advisor; that appointment did not go down well with William Ruto, who believed that he should have been consulted first before the appointment was made. In the 2017 elections, with the support of Uhuru Kenyatta, Kutuny bounced back by winning back his former seat of Cherengany. Through Uhuru’s intervention and influence, he was appointed the Jubilee Party National Deputy Secretary General.
In the run-up to the last general election, Kutuny and former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter stuck with Uhuru Kenyatta’s Kieleweke wing of the Jubilee party, much to the chagrin of William Ruto’s Tanga Tanga wing. In the 2022 elections, Kutuny defended his seat on the Jubilee Party ticket and got 5,312 votes against Patrick Simiyu of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K), who managed 26,748 votes.
The big question now is: why did William Ruto decide to reward his political rival at the expense of his close allies who campaigned for him and are still jobless? Sources say William Ruto is working on a political scheme to consolidate all Kalenjin votes ahead of the 2027 elections, where every vote shall count considering that a meagre 200,000 votes earned him victory. The president’s handlers are aware that Kutuny is a political schemer, and if given time to play opposition politics in the region, he can poison the minds of a good number of voters. Second, the president is said to be working on a plot to weaken the Jubilee Party after he failed to forcefully take it over through Sabina Chege and Kanini Kega. The game plan now is to ensure all Jubilee Party officials outside of the Mount Kenya region leave the party to make the party a pale shadow of its former self.
The appointment of Kutuny, according to analysts, will weaken the Jubilee Party by reducing its popularity outside the Mount Kenya region. The president has successfully brought on board most of the Kalenjin politicians who previously opposed him. The game plan is to reduce and contain rebellion in his political backyard. The first to be brought on board was former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto. He was appointed to the powerful Judicial Service Commission by former nominated ODM MP Wilson Sossion.
Former Aldai MP Dr Sally Kosgey has also been re-appointed as the Chancellor of Taita Taveta University. She is a close Raila Odinga ally and campaigned for him and Azimio in the last general elections.
Sources now say former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter is the next target for a state job to silence him. He has been in the media, telling off the Ruto’s and his Kenya Kwanza over failed promises. Former Elgeyo/Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos is also said to be targeted.
