Deputy President William Ruto and his wife Mama Rachel were allegedly abandoned at a coastal airstrip after a Governor they had gone to meet cancelled the meeting last minute without informing the DP.
A local daily reported how Ruto landed at the Vipingo Airstrip on a private jet on June 19. The DP had agreed to meet Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi for a private meeting.
However, Kingi is alleged to have gone missing and switched off his phone. Efforts by Ruto handler Farouk Kibet to trace Kingi through his close contacts did not bear any fruits. It is not clear why the second term Governor decided to cancel the date without informing Ruto.
Kingi has been warming himself to the DP since the 2017 elections. Last year he announced a rally in Kilifi that they would work together with Ruto in the 2022 elections. Political analysts in the coast say the governor is looking for new allies after falling out with ODM leader Raila Odinga.
However, the governor is believed to be afraid of the repercussions that he may face if he openly starts working with Ruto. Three Tanga Tanga Governors; Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu), Mike Sonko (Nairobi) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) have been locked out of their offices because of their close ties with the DP. Kingi does not want to join this list.
Kilifi politicians are not happy with how ODM has treated them. Despite voting for Raila to the last man in the 2017 elections, ODM did not nominate any Kilifi resident to parliament or national assembly. The party is also accused of nominating Kisumu residents in the Kilifi County Assembly.
Ruto is looking for new allies in Kilifi after Lands Ministry CAS Gideon Mung’aro joined the Raila camp. Mung’aro was the Jubilee Gubernatorial candidate in 2017 and lost narrowly to Kingi.
Currently, Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa is the only MP supporting Ruto in Kilifi. The.DP is coveting Kingi to join his camp. Kingi is one of the most influential politicians in Kenya and a Coastal Kingpin. In 2017, he ensured Jubilee did not win any elective seat in Kilifi.
