First of all, it is obvious from President Ruto’s recent appointment of Mr Renson Ikonga to succeed Noordin Haji as the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and Andrew Mukite Musangi as the chairperson of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) that he is already adhering to the MoU and that he has good intentions for the Luhya people. Mr Humphrey Mulongo’s nomination as the KRA Commissioner General is yet another indication that Ruto has adhered to the terms of his agreement with Mr Mudavadi. Sources say DP Gachagua had lobbied hard for the three important positions to be handed to his allies from the Mount Kenya region, but the president disregarded his pleas.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua needs to step outside of his comfort zone and be ready to square it off against Musalia Mudavadi if Senator Dr Bonnie Khalwale’s statement about the existence of a secret MoU between Musalia Mudavadi and President Ruto is anything to go by.
Senator Khalwale was recently overheard saying that President William Ruto signed an MoU with a top Luhya leader as his running mate in 2027 and then his successor once he serves out his two five-year terms. He claimed that the MoU was signed ahead of the last general elections.
DP Gachagua and Mudavadi have been engaged in a power struggle regarding who is more senior in government since the creation of William Ruto’s cabinet. Rigadhi Gachagua is the second in command, according to the constitution, in practice however things seem to work differently. DP Gachagua’s allies are not pleased that Musalia appears to have greater influence in government than their boss. Whereas the president has made Musalia his ambassador at large, representing him at high-level international meetings, the DP has been confided to local assignments, mainly fighting local illicit liquor brewers, and coffee/ tea cartels in central Kenya.
During the entire electioneering campaign period of 2022, William Ruto never uttered a word of “Yangu kumi, yako kumi” in reference to his DP. Even after the two were sworn in as President and DP, there is no single day the president has come out openly to propose Rigathi Gachagua as his automatic successor. According to a source close to Senator Khalwale, key provisions were inserted in the secret MoU to persuade Musalia Mudavadi to abandon his quest to contest for the presidency in 2022 in support of William Ruto.
First of all, it is obvious from President Ruto’s recent appointment of Mr Renson Ikonga to succeed Noordin Haji as the next Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and Andrew Mukite Musangi as the chairperson of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) that he is already adhering to the MoU and that he has good intentions for the Luhya people. Mr Humphrey Mulongo’s nomination as the KRA Commissioner General is yet another indication that Ruto has adhered to the terms of his agreement with Mr Mudavadi. Sources say DP Gachagua had lobbied hard for the three important positions to be handed to his allies from the Mount Kenya region, but the president disregarded his pleas.
Analysts say the three positions (Commissioner General KRA and DPP and Chairperson CBK) are powerful positions that the state uses to push for its political agenda under the “deep state system.”
All signs point to DP Gachagua suffering the same fate William Ruto did at the hands of Uhuru Kenyatta when he failed to support his DP in his 2022 presidential bid. A few people who are privy to the Mudavadi-Ruto MoU, claim that the creation of the powerful office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary was meant to position Mr Musalia strategically for the 2032 elections.
There is a possibility that William Ruto could drop Rigathi Gachagua for Musalia Mudavadi as his DP ahead of 2027. It is said that Gachagua is already coming to terms with that possibility and is already working on his Plan B should William Ruto abandon him. The political beef between Gachagua and Mudavadi traces its way to a few days before the last general elections when Gachagua acted wild at the prospect of William Ruto considering Mudavadi as his running mate.
He insisted that the position of a running mate had to be filled by a person from Mt. Kenya, well he finally got the DP position edging out Kithure Kindiki, but William Ruto made him even angrier when he assigned Mudavadi powerful roles in Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration.
There is already concern within the administration that an uprising is about to break out in the Mount Kenya region and that President Ruto has lost about 25% of the support he enjoyed ahead of the 2022 elections. A source at State House told The Weekly Vision that President Ruto is already working on his reelection campaign strategy and Musalia is being considered as a potential running mate. Analysts believe the president can effectively defend his presidency in the next elections even if the Mountain was to support one of their own, although the president is busy working on how to handle the rebellion in the region.
Ruto can now proudly storm the Luhya nation and parade high-lying state officers he has appointed. The Luhyas will therefore have no reason to deny him votes come 2027.
