Former Agriculture Minister Kipruto Arap Kirwa has said that the move by former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi to join the Kenya Kwanza side is a deliberate strategy by President William Ruto to destroy all alternative political forces in the Rift Valley region.

According to Kirwa, who spoke during an interview on Herman Manyora’s channel on Sunday, October 12, 2025, Gideon Moi was slowly rising as an alternative voice in the Rift Valley.

Also Watch: Kipruto Kirwa: Ruto has made Moi look like an angel

He believes this is the reason the president moved swiftly to bring Moi to his side and convince him to drop out of the Baringo senatorial race.

Kirwa stated that President Ruto appears determined to eliminate any form of alternative leadership in the region.

He added that Gideon Moi was emerging as one of the key figures who could have provided a different voice for the Rift Valley beyond Ruto’s leadership.

“What is happening now? Because it’s like Ruto is interested in decimating the presence of alternative leadership in the calendar, and Gideon Moi was emerging as one of the alternatives, because after 2032, should William Ruto win the next election?” Kirwa stated.

He further explained that should President Ruto win the 2032 election, he seems intent on shaping the political landscape of the Rift Valley even beyond his presidency.

Kirwa added that he had expected Gideon Moi to run for the Baringo Senate seat while maintaining some level of cooperation with Kenya Kwanza, instead of fully abandoning his independent political path.

He said that by not contesting, Moi has left the region without a strong alternative voice that could provide checks and balances to the current leadership.

Gideon Moi Ruto meeting

These come days after the former senator agreed to enter into the broad-based arrangement with President Ruto.

These followed a long statehouse meeting between the two that first saw him bow out of the Baringo senatorial race in favour of UDA’s candidate Vincent Kiprono Chemitei.

On the following day, the president visited Gideon Moi at his home in Kabarak, where Gideon agreed to rally behind the president and support UDA’s candidate in the race to replace the late William Cheptumo, who passed on early in the year.