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Determined to ensure his estranged Deputy William Ruto does not succeed him, President Uhuru Kenyatta has lined up a litany of charges which he intends to unleash in the court of public opinion to discredit his Principal Assistant.

Sources in the President’s inner circle intimated to People Daily that the President intends to expose Ruto’s soft belly before voters and call for his rejection at the August 9 General-Election.

Unlike in the past when he ignored attacks from the Deputy President and his surrogates, Uhuru is this time taking no prisoners against the candidature of a man he worked with in the past two elections.

Uhuru’s allies say Kenyans should expect more salvos directed at Ruto from the Head of State in his planned rallies where he will be campaigning for his Handshake partner, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.

It is believed the President will share details of their fallout.

Mt Kenya tour

Last week, while addressing a public function in Mombasa, Uhuru gave the clearest indication of his intention to campaign for Raila, indirectly rebuking his deputy for having embarked on premature election campaigns.

Uhuru is expected to kick off the first leg of his tours in the Mt Kenya region where Ruto has made significant inroads. The President is scheduled to host leaders and opinion leaders from the area at Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County.

The meeting, which sources say the President will use to kick off his efforts to deconstruct his deputy’s candidature, has already been planned and the list of attendees submitted.

Another caucus targeting counties in Mount Kenya East is scheduled to take place at Chuka University in Meru before Uhuru embarks on a series of public rallies.

From allegations of presiding over theft of public resources and using the proceeds to brainwash Kenyans, absconding duty, politics of deceit, blackmail during Jubilee government’s first term in office and lack of respect, Uhuru, according to sources, is set to go full throttle against his political friend-turned-foe by projecting him as “too dangerous and unsuitable for the presidency”.

“Uhuru is coming out to expose his deputy and ensure he does not succeed him. Already, Central Kenya has shifted without Uhuru’s campaigns and that is why the DP has shifted his focus to Western Kenya. Now he (Uhuru) is coming out with people waiting to hear from him as to why they parted ways,” said nominated MP Maina Kamanda.

Below the belt

He added: “After working with Ruto for 10 years, Uhuru has realised that he is a dangerous fellow for the Mt Kenya community and the country as a whole because of massive corruption, selfishness, disrespect and having rejected the cohesion BBI project.”

But a University of Nairobi lecturer and political analyst Dr Jane Thuo warns that Uhuru’s move could easily backfire on him unless handled with utmost care.

Thus says there is hardly any new dirt on Ruto that the President can reveal as the Head of State has always spoken indirectly against his deputy. “In politics, it is never good to hit your perceived enemy below the belt. But knowing who Ruto is when it comes to playing dirty, the President had better be careful,” Dr Thuo warned.

She observed that “the President is no saint too”, and Ruto may be prompted to counter by revealing secrets that may taint the President’s image. “Ruto may also seize the moment to turn victim and win public sympathy and votes from the masses,” she stated.

The President has indirectly been accusing the DP’s wing of presiding over massive theft of public resources, claims that the latter and his allies have refuted and challenged the Head of State to submit evidence to investigative agencies.

The President is on record saying the country Sh2 billion daily to corruption and criticised his deputy for opposing the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) that was pushing for inclusivity as well as increasing county resources and representation in his Mt Kenya backyard.

He has also accused the DP of being defiant on his directive to stop early campaigns, sabotaging the government, assembling a cabal of MPs to disparage him, inciting Kenyans through the dynasty and hustler narrative and selling retrogressive policies such as the donation of wheelbarrows and carts to the youth as a form of empowerment.

In his tour of the Mt Kenya region, Uhuru is expected to explain why the death of BBI was a blow to calls for equitable allocation of revenue based on the principle of “one person, one vote, one shilling”.

Those in the know say Uhuru will revisit proposals in the BBI that included the introduction of the proportional representation system which would have helped Mt Kenya region gain political power in proportion to their numbers.

Strong feeling

Kamanda says that during his tours, the President would explain to Kenyans why he feels the country could be safe in Raila’s hands and not his deputy whom he had in 2013 pledged to back in this year’s polls to reciprocate his support.

Though he has not been mentioning names, the President has also declared he would not leave the country to “thieves” and people who will exploit and divide people.

Though he has in most instances avoided mentioning names, pundits opine that it has been Uhuru’s uncomplimentary remarks against Ruto who has been on a campaign trail for his 2022 presidential bid since 2018.

Dr Richard Bosire, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Nairobi, says that from his tone and choice of words, it was clear the President and his allies were prosecuting the DP and his team by creating a bad picture of him in the public arena to have him rejected by voters.

“The President has a strong feeling that his deputy is not the right person for this county and, therefore, he will be raising the issues as he seeks to convince people not to elect him. The issues range from corruption, nepotism and tribalism gave that when they were forming government in 2013, while Uhuru struggled to accommodate people from other regions in the Cabinet, Ruto brought only people from his community,” said Dr Bosire.

He added: “The DP has been disrespectful towards the President and has continued to vilify him. The President will be telling his people that if this man has been disrespecting me as his boss, what makes you think that when you elect him as president, he will show respect to the community?”

That corruption will be part of his testimony against Ruto’s camp which has been grappling with allegations of turning his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) into a refuge for people with either criminal cases or under investigations, was captured aptly last week when Jubilee Party indicated in a newspaper advertisement that anyone wishing to contest on its ticket must be someone who abhors corruption and is a peacemaker.

And in what is promising to be a nasty back and forth between the warring political groupings, the DP and his allies who are unhappy with the President’s decision to support Raila, have threatened they will also expose the skeletons in Uhuru’s cupboard should he embarrass Ruto in the campaigns.

Garissa MP Aden Duale said they would also spill the beans on Uhuru’s leadership’s secrets.

“Wacha kujificha na kusema ati wewe utaambia watu yale William Ruto amefanya. Na sisi hatuna shida na Raisi Kenyatta lakini huwezi kutulazimisha na kutuchagulia kiongozi ambaye atakuja baada yako (We dare you to spill the beans on William Ruto and we shall spill the dirt about your leadership. Though we do not have a problem with the President, we will not allow him to decide for us who will succeed him,” said Duale.

One vote

On Friday when he hosted a group of youth at State House, Uhuru said: “We have left the offices now because the campaign season has come, and we are in the political arena. We have the candidate and we have the ability. Let’s go and form (the next) government and continue with the work. I will be at the grassroots campaigning.”

Speaking in Mombasa early in the week, Uhuru said Ruto had declined to heed his call to shelve early campaigns at the start of the Jubilee government’s second term and told him to brace himself for a real political test as the campaign season begins.

“This is a marathon, I have no project for anyone. Yes my vote is only one, but I can influence more others to follow the direction I feel is okay for this country,” the President stated.

Jubilee Party deputy secretary-general Joshua Kutuny who is the Cherangany MP, and his Nyeri Town counterpart Ngunjiri Wambugu said Kenyans should expect to hear from the President about issues that led to their fallout as he seeks to build a strong case against his deputy.

“The issues the President would be addressing are unity and the fight against corruption because when he was working with them, they (Tanga Tanga) went on a looting spree and definitely as a person who has been keen on fighting corruption, this would be his campaign agenda against Ruto because it is in his interest to convince people to vote for a safe pair hands for the country and someone who will continue with his legacy projects,” Kutuny said.