Ruto-Moi Feud Takes Center Stage in Baringo By-election

Earlier this month, Kanu delegates endorsed the party chairman to contest the mini-election. The decision was made during meetings held across all six constituency headquarters, where delegates deliberated on the party’s strategy and affirmed Moi’s candidature.

Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was scheduled to hold nominations to choose its candidate on Sunday, 20 September. The seat fell vacant following the death of Senator William Cheptumo earlier this year.

Cheptumo had trounced Moi in the August 2022 General Election, garnering 141,777 votes against Moi’s 71,408. Felix Chelaite of The Service Party (TSP) came a distant third with 3,261 votes. While Ruto was groomed by former President Daniel arap Moi before clinching the Eldoret North parliamentary seat in 1997 and later served as a powerful minister in his government, their relations soured after he led a campaign that saw Kanu lose its grip on the Rift Valley in the 2007 elections. The party lost the majority of seats to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), in which Ruto served as deputy leader alongside Musalia Mudavadi.

Relations between Ruto and the Moi family deteriorated further to the point that he was barred from visiting the late president, who was recuperating at his Kabarak home in 2018. Moi’s spokesman, Lee Njiru, confirmed at the time that Ruto had visited but did not see the former president as he was with his doctors. An aide also noted that the visit had not been pre-arranged.

In February 2020, Ruto, then Deputy President, together with Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi, then Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, and former State House Comptroller Franklin Bett, were also denied access to Moi’s body at Lee Funeral Home despite earlier addressing the nation at Harambee House Annex, where he had described Moi as his mentor.

Moi is also believed to have influenced then-President Uhuru Kenyatta after the 2017 election. In 2015, he hosted former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta at his Kabarak home, during which sources said she complained about Ruto causing sleepless nights for her son.

While Gideon and his brother Raymond survived the intrigues, both were swept aside by the UDA wave in the last election. Raymond lost his Rongai parliamentary seat to UDA’s Paul Chebor, who garnered 27,021 votes against his 14,725.

Although there is growing discontent over the government’s delivery of campaign promises, Ruto still maintains a firm grip on his Rift Valley backyard. It is therefore unlikely he will allow Moi to reclaim the seat without a fight.

A self-made political strategist and master of oratory, the President is keen to retain maximum support in the region, which will be vital for his re-election bid. This comes amid a possible loss of support in the Mt Kenya region, which gave him 3.3 million votes in 2022, following his fallout with his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.

Last month, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale hinted at the fierce battle ahead when he dared Moi to enter the race, claiming he relied solely on his family name and had little else to offer. “Mwambie Gideon Moi awache hiyo upuuzi. Gideon Moi, ile kitu ya maana ako nayo pekee ni kubeba jina ya Mzee Moi. Hana maana ingine. Ukiangalia CV yake, ile kitu ako nayo ni he is the son of Mzee Moi, a very good old man, na alioppose Ruto akiwa deputy. Watu wa Baringo, kama mko hapa, pelekeni huyo kijana amepotea njia.”

‘Tell Gideon Moi to stop this nonsense. The only thing he has is his father’s name. He has no other credentials. If you look at his CV, all he has is that he is the son of Mzee Moi, a very good old man, and he opposed Ruto when he was Deputy President. People of Baringo, if you are here, send that young man away; he has lost his way’, Duale said on 1 August.