Farouk Kibet pitches tent in Western as loss of Mt Kenya sparks panic in Ruto’s camp
"Farouk Kibet has never left the Western region for the last nearly one year because he understands that the only way to salvage the presidency is by bringing Western on board,” political commentator Tony Gachoka recently observed.
President William Ruto’s personal aide Farouk Kibet has pitched tent in Western Kenya for several months signaling the strategic importance of the region to his re-election bid.
Kibet, a powerful figure in Ruto’s corner even before he became president, has been presiding over fundraisers for churches, boda boda riders and women, among other groups, for much of the last one year accompanied by MPs and other leaders from the area.
Apart from the fundraisers, Kibet has also been engaging in grassroots mobilisation, empowerment forums, and campaigning for UDA candidates in by-elections in Malava constituency and West Kabras ward.
His efforts to consolidate Ruto’s support in the region has intensified since the emerged of the Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s emergence as a compelling alternative to the older political establishment comprising of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, among others.
Political pundits aver the Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi movement is likely to give Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) a run for its money in next year’s General Election especially if he picked as the single opposition candidate or running mate and thus the panic in the ruling party.
“Farouk Kibet has never left the Western region for the last nearly one year because he understands that the only way to salvage the presidency is by bringing Western on board,” political commentator Tony Gachoka recently observed.
He adds at the likelihood of the President naming a running mate from the region.
Pointedly, Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has emerged as one of the choices fronted by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) which has made the running mate slot one of its irreducible minimums if it will support Ruto’s re-election bid.
It is believed that with the imminent loss of support in Mt Kenya and other areas as political realignment take shape, Western Kenya, which has for long been politically marginalised, is seen as a region that could potential reduce the impact of the losses Ruto will suffer.
Apart from strategic appointments to senior positions, Ruto has also directed infrastructure investment towards the region, including dualling of the Nairobi-Eldoret-Malaba highway and extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha to Malaba through Kisumu.
However, Kibet’s high profile visits, during which he raises millions of shillings at fundraisers in Vihiga, Kakamega, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia and Busia counties have previously raised eyebrows with some questioning their intention in the absence of the region’s political bigwigs even as local leaders such as Bungoma Governor Kenya Lusaka welcomed the embrace, saying it opens the opportunity for Ruto’s successor in 2032 to come from the region.
