Ruto’s party of choice continues to baffle
Allies of Deputy President William Ruto yesterday gave a hint once again that he may not use the ruling Jubilee Party in his 2022 State House race.
Instead, according to his close confidants, Ruto may use the re-branded United Democratic Alliance (UDA) formerly known as the Party for Reforms and Development (PDR) to advance his presidential bid.
People Daily understands, the change of the party’s name and symbol to a wheelbarrow with Kazi Ni Kazi as its slogan, is part of Ruto’s game plan ahead of the high stakes polls.
The Registrar of Political Parties on Monday gave notice of intention by the PDR to change its name to UDA, raising speculation that the DP camp was plotting to embrace the party as his vehicle for the election.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 20 (i) of the Political Parties Act, the Registrar of Political Parties gives notice that the Party for Reforms and Development (PDR) intends to effect changes on their particulars,” reads the gazette notice in part.
The wheelbarrow, a sensational political tool has been the face of the hustler nation empowerment programme headed by the DP distributed to youths alongside other items.
It has, however, attracted a lot of criticism from supporters of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, a close ally of DP Ruto, on Wednesday said without direct reference to UDA, that they will move alongside the DP to a new outfit that is accommodative, claiming that Jubilee Party is a shell that only exists in paper.
According to Cherargei, the DP and his associates have continuously being humiliated and that they had made up their mind to move to a political party that respects democracy, allows divergent views and has a leadership that is consultative not dictatorship witnessed with Jubilee Party.
“At opportune time we will chart our political interests and our house will be inclusive, democratic and consultative, every member’s view will matter,” Cherargei told People Daily in an interview on Wednesday.
“Before leaving Jubilee, we must be given our share, we won’t leave empty handed, Registrar of Political Parties has allocated millions of shillings to the party in addition to our monthly contributions that runs into millions, when the time comes we will walk away with our share of party holdings, in terms of assets and finances,” he added.
Ruto has had run-ins with Jubilee Party hierarchy from being denied access to party headquarters to his closest allies being hounded out of plum parliamentary offices, losing key committee leadership and forced to keep low profiles.
This even as Ruto swore he would not allow the forces that allegedly kicked him out of ODM in 2012 to eject him from Jubilee.
However, outspoken Lang’ata MP Nixon Korir was more blunt revealing that they are advanced plans of MPs allied to DP Ruto decamping to the new oufit, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
