Njoroge also said that Ruto's supporters are also threatening to frustrate President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election bid in 2017 if support for Ruto is not guaranteed
Despite threats of being kicked out of Senate , Njoroge has maintained that Uhuru's promise to support Ruto was personal and did not bind the Kikuyu community
The debate on Deputy President William Ruto's 2022 presidential bid seems to be far from ending even after President Uhuru Kenyatta's assurance.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was, on June 28, forced to reiterate his support for Ruto's bid after a Jubilee senator claimed that the backing was not guaranteed.
"His excellency the president has been categorical about the 2022 Jubilee ticket. He has made it very clear that the party will fully back Deputy President William Ruto," State House Senior Director of Public Communication Munyori Buku said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto had entered a pre-2013 election pact that they would support each other's presidential ambitions.
However, the senator - Paul Njoroge - later said the State House's assurance was personal.
"He (Uhuru) never said it on behalf of the Kikuyu community, he said it on his own
behalf," he told The Star, as published on Saturday, July 2. In the interview with the paper, Paul Njoroge maintained that Ruto would not easily get support from the Kikuyu community as some leaders want him to believe. Senator Paul Njoroge further accused Ruto's allies of blackmailing the Kikuyu community in order to have their support after Uhuru's second term (if he gets re-elected in 2017).
First, according to the senator, Ruto's men threaten to ditch Uhuru's re-election bid if they are not guaranteed of the Kikuyu's support in 2022.
"They have been instilling fear in our people in the Rift Valley and all over, telling them that if you don't vote for Ruto in 2022, he will make sure that Uhuru doesn't win in 2017," Njoroge told the paper. He dismissed this saying that Uhuru could easily win in 2017 even without Ruto's
support. According to Njoroge, Uhuru is a sincere, hard-working and likable person who
can be loved by anyone.
Secondly, the nominated lawmaker claimed that there are threats that the Kikuyu community in the Rift Valley would be kicked out if they failed to vote for Ruto.
"The other fear is, if you don't vote Ruto in 2022, you will be kicked out of the Rift Valley… They are promising the deputy president a seat because of fear, not because they want," he said.
This, he warned, could lead to violence similar to that experienced after the 2007 elections. Senator Paul Njoroge's statements have raised concerns among Ruto's allies as they came just weeks after another top politician from Mount Kenya region had similar views.
Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter said it was not a coincident that Paul Njoroge and Kiambu Governor William Kabogo's sentiments were similar.
"You can say he is a drunk. The second person repeats the same and he is branded mad… We should be asking, since when did a mad man and a drunk start understanding each other to agree on something?" said Keter as quoted by Daily Nation. Governor William Kabogo and DP William Ruto hugging each other at a function in Kuresoi. Ruto said Kabogo only advised him to look for
votes allover Kenya. DP Ruto has since urged members of the Jubilee coalition to stop discussing his 2022 presidential bid and instead focus on the 2017 general election. Speaking at Kipkeikei Boys High School in Trans Nzoia county on Saturday, July 2, Ruto said that the leaders should concentrate on how Uhuru will retain the seat in 2017 before they discuss the succession.
"I want to ask all those who are introducing unnecessary debates about 2022 to stop. The contest that is present in the arena is the 2017 race," he said. Uhuru and his deputy Ruto had entered a
pre-2013 election pact that they would support each other's presidential ambitions.
According to their pact, Uhuru is to serve until 2022 after which he will back and hopefully hand
over power to Ruto.
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