During the citizens’ mass in Naivisha, Nakuru County, Vice-President Ruto appeared with a large group of MPs. The scene was similar on the way to Naivisha, when Ruto stopped for another religious celebration in Kekopey. Here, too, he was accompanied by MPs loyal to him, in front of a packed Peronist-style crowd.
The theme of his speeches was an attempt to attract new allies for the run-up to the August 2022 general election. “We are ready to work with anyone who supports our political programme,” Ruto said, trying to appeal to the disgruntled in the other two main parties facing off, Odinga’s ODM and Kenyatta’s Jubilee.
In particular, the ‘advances’ were aimed at three MPs, Mudavadi, Kalonzo and Wetangu’la who are thought to be unsure about giving their endorsement to Raila Odinga. Ndindi Nyoro, a 35-year-old MP who is an opponent of the ODM leader and a loyal Ruto supporter, delivered a heavy invective against Odinga, accusing him of failing to keep his campaign promises and of political short-sightedness.
The ‘hustlers’, a term coined by Ruto, which indicates that segment of the population – especially young people – who struggle to make ends meet, and the battleground name of the coalition that sees the current vice-president as the best candidate for the presidential elections, are now playing very important games to secure the country’s trust against the ‘dynasties’, the heirs of the first politicians of independent Kenya.
