Ruto Walks a Tightrope: Mt Kenya’s ‘One Man, One Vote, One Shilling’ Debate Adds Pressure
The ongoing one man, one shilling, one vote debate in the Mt Kenya region is such a minefield that the political careers of current government officials are in jeopardy.
During his campaigns in the region, President William Ruto told Mt Kenya voters that they were receiving little money for development because former President Uhuru Kenyatta had sunk the nation into debt and allowed corruption to flourish.
It is now his time of reckoning. The government allies of President Ruto, including Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Attorney General Justin Muturi, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa, Budget Chair Ndindi Nyoro, and Council of Governors chair Ms. Anne Waiguru, bear the greatest responsibility for ensuring that this principle of sharing resources and opportunities is implemented.
“Retired President Kenyatta had warned the region about this issue and wanted them to pass the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) so that it could be entrenched into law in the proposed referendum that was so vilified…Mr Ruto’s allies in the Mountain led by Mr Gachagua trashed the recommendation and told us that it could be done in parliament. Now they are the government and the majority in that parliament. What are they waiting for?” posed Jubilee Secretary General, Jeremiah Kioni.
Pundits warn that Mr. Kenyatta and his allies in the Mountain are capitalizing on this debate to portray President Ruto as a gamble against which they warned residents, who disregarded their advice and are now suffering the consequences. Mr. Kenyatta had touted Mr. Raila Odinga as the most qualified presidential candidate for the region represented by Ms. Martha Karua, but they were all humiliated when Mr. Ruto and his allies decisively defeated them.
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Political analysts are now concerned that the retired president is working in the shadows to capitalize on the failures of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance government while maintaining ties with Mr. Odinga to devise a comeback strategy aimed at making President Ruto a one-term president.
The president faces the greatest difficulty in determining the best course of action that will ensure his political survival both now and when he seeks a second term.
Therefore, it will be in his best interest to devise a method for meeting this demand on Mount Kenya.
The President was confronted with the gravity of the debate during the burial of three-time Presidential candidate Mr. Waweru Ng’ethe in the Kandara constituency on Friday.
There, Governor Irungu Kang’ata, Senator Joe Nyutu, and nominated Member of Parliament Sabina Chege confronted him with the debate.
They cautioned President Ruto that the issue was near and dear to the hearts of area residents, formed the basis of nearly all political and economic discussions in the region, and has become the topic of conversation in households.
The President avoided the subject when it was his turn to address the mourners, despite addressing all other issues raised.
“It is a tight corner he is in…he certainly won’t enjoy this new push for the one man one shilling one vote debate that has erupted in Mt Kenya region. It is the region that gave him 47 percent of his win. But on the other hand, it was an election where every vote mattered since he won by 250, 000 votes only,” said political analyst Prof Ngugi Njoroge.
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Other regions, particularly Rift Valley, Coast, and North Eastern, voted for his government in that debate, but if the one man, one shilling, one vote principle is implemented, they would lose their allocations by large margins. They will not accept it passively.
“This forms the basis of President Ruto’s dilemma – to upset part of his family to appease another part of that family. It is not a good choice in politics and it poses one of the biggest threats in his popularity in Mt Kenya,” said former long-serving career administrator, Mr Joseph Kaguthi.
Mr. Kaguthi stated that the other option is for President Ruto to achieve enormous economic growth, which would maintain the current allocations but increase those for densely populated areas to the required levels.
“The debate is premised on the fact that there are regions that are being allocated an average of Sh30, 000 per head while others have Sh3, 000 as their share per head. The disadvantaged regions are not exclusively in Mt Kenya, but also in Bungoma, Homa Bay, Machakos, Kakamega, Kisii, Siaya, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Kilifi, Bomet, and Kajiado,” said Kiambu governor Mr. Kimani Wamatangi, adding that, “This debate should not be made to appear as beneficial to Mt Kenya region only.”
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As the debate rages, the Laikipia East MP and his Githunguri counterpart, Ms. Gathoni wa Muchomba, have revealed that the resource-sharing formula unnerves some government political heavyweights.
“There are about six politicians who have been marked as rebels and have been under pressure to shut up about the issue. I have made it crystal clear that I will be the last person to be silenced since we must make haste and make our voters also enjoy the warmth they accorded us by voting us into government,” said Mr. Kiunjuri.
Ms wa Muchomba recently told Inooro TV that, “I have been warned that I started talking too soon about the one man one shilling one vote maxim…I had declared it as an agenda immediately after we were sworn in but I was told to go easy on it…But I want to give my assurance that this debate must sail through and the formula will apply before we go to vote in 2027.”
Ruto Walks a Tightrope: Mt Kenya’s ‘One Man, One Vote, One Shilling’ Debate Adds Pressure
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