US, Britain gang up against Ruto – Weekly Citizen

In what appears to be a fresh headache for William Ruto, leading Western powers led by United States and Britain have joined forces with those pushing for the derailment of his presidential bid to succeed outgoing Uhuru Kenyatta.
America’s concern has something to do with the DP’s links with China’s influence in the country and his alleged association with corruption and money laundering.
During the 2017 elections, Jubilee party entered into a deal with Communist Party of China. Ruto and his allies have been linked to brokerage of multibillion tenders by Chinese firms in Kenya, cutting across road constructions, energy, railway and mining.
It now appears that Washington is for the Uhuru-Raila Odinga handshake and for status quo in a country that is strategic for the US and UK. The Americans are said to be annoyed with the assassination reports emanating from the DP’s office.
Raila has been visiting the UK and recently went to wish well ailing Bomet governor Joyce Laboso accompanied by

Manoah Esipisu

Kenyan envoy to the UK, Manoah Esipisu. The two foreign powers control a huge investment in the country.
The former PM has been traversing the continent and beyond in his new responsibility as Africa Union special envoy for infrastructure.
Ruto’s connections with Beijing are a clear manifestation of his growing frustrations with the US and Britain, both of whose economic ties he perceives to be perfect ingredients of re-colonisation.
And herein comes, the US-UK disdain for the DP now facing a backlash over wide ranging issues; from supposed corruption to political grandstanding in his sustained assault on the 2022 Uhuru exit race.
The US and the UK view Ruto’s proclivity for matters Chinese as an avenue for mega corruption and money laundering, with billions of shillings in kickbacks from big budget infrastructure projects flying his way ostensibly to fund his 2022 campaign trail, of course through proxies.
More recently, Ruto is said to have lobbied Beijing to foil the Uhuru-Raila mission to secure a Sh350 billion loan for the extension of the Naivasha-Kisumu SGR line. And when Uhuru and Raila failed to secure the much hyped loan, the DP and his Tangatanga formation went on a celebratory mode, in effect ushering in a momentum of unprecedented proportions.
Incidentally, this came at a time the DP was facing a backlash from voters in his backyard who were furious that the project ignored Eldoret despite Ruto’s position in the government, with a report being aired on TV highlighting a clashing comparison of a shining Raila’s backyard in Kisumu city to a pathetic looking Eldoret town.
The DP maintained that that the SGR phase 3 and 4 which was almost hijacked by Raila was supposed to take Eldoret-Malava route. The government, however, refuted claims that it failed to secure Sh380 billion loan from China for the Naivasha-Kisumu SGR extension, with State House clarifying the extension of the railway had not been on the agenda of Uhuru’s visit to China.
Chief-of-Staff Nzioka Waita, instead said that the president had “shared” plans to rehabilitate the existing railway to Kisumu.China reportedly was worried that a coming together of president and opposition leader would expose their money to corruption as the two would share huge chunks of it with no one to blow the whistle.
For Britain, it rotates around ranches and large tracks of land the Britons own in Laikipia, Uasin Gishu, Nandi and Kericho counties trading as multinationals.

Nzioka Waita

Already, there is talk in Western capitals that Ruto will turn out to be another Robert Mugabe if he wins the presidency in 2022.
Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe till he was ousted by the country’s armed forces, irked the Western world when he ordered the popular invasion of white-owned farms by the locals, citing historical injustices.
Likewise, the West fears that the DP, whom they are describing as a populist, will allow the invasion of farms owned by their companies, particularly in Rift Valley and Central Kenya, just like the way Mugabe did in Zimbabwe. Kenyans who have long suffered in their own country after their ancestors’ lands were taken away by the whites at gunpoint however long for the day when the soil will be back in their hands.
In fact, none other than Raila in the last campaigns told Kenyans that he was going to subdivide the huge tracts of land the foreigners lead a paradise-like life in and give them back to Africans. Raila speaking in Dandora said he would start with the huge Kenyatta family land in Ruiru where he said it is inhumane for Kikuyu peasants to stand on top of each other for lack of land as the Kenyattas’ land hosted wild animals.
Talk in Western capitals is that the DP is behind the threats by members of the Kipsigis community and the Talai clan in Kericho county to sue the British government for atrocities they they faced during the colonial era.
The county government has already completed collecting and analysing evidence of torture incidences in preparation for the filing of a lawsuit against the British, at a London High Court.
Equally, the West suspects that Ruto is behind the Nandi county administration’s threat to sue the British government for historical land injustices meted out on the community during the colonial era.

Sang Steven

The case is being pushed by Ruto’s ally, Governor Stephen Sang. The governor and the county lands executive Jacob Tanui have already unveiled a new team of legal experts tasked with steering the process.
They have gone ahead and hired the international human rights and criminal law specialist lawyer Karim Khan who had been engaged by his predecessor Cleophas Lagat with land and litigation lawyers Jane Masaa and Henry Kenei who will be assisted by the county administration’s legal counsel led by George Tarus.
Khan represented Ruto at the International Criminal Court where he and Uhuru faced charges of crimes against humanity stemming out from the 2007/08 post-election violence.
In the petition, the Nandi community accuses the British government of forceful eviction from fertile lands to pave way for the establishment of the large scale tea plantations.
The community is laying claim to the greater Nandi Hills, presently occupied by various Tea Estate Companies; Chemelil, Muhoroni, Miwani, Kimwani area, Makindu, Kibigori, Kibos, Oduo, Mamboleo, the Fort Tenan, Soba River, Soghor and Tibingot area that forms parts of the land formally occupied by the East Africa Tanning and Extract Company.
The multinational companies also own land in Murang’a, Kiambu, Kericho, Nandi, Laikipia, Taita Taveta and Machakos counties.
The foreigners were granted the land under 999-year leases by the colonial governments, ostensibly because it was unoccupied. However, with the enactment of the 2010 constitution, the leases were reduced to 99 years — retroactively. Some of the leases have now expired.
The European powers are also worried that Ruto, in a bid to cut the former president Daniel arap Moi family to size, will seize their properties that will see him interfere with businesses such as Safaricom, where the Moi family has vast interests.
Safaricom is partly owned by Vodafone, which in May 2000 through Vodafone Group PLC of the United Kingdom, acquired a 40pc stake and management responsibility for the company.
Insiders add that talk in Western capitals is that Ruto will turn out to be like Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni who is difficult for them to manipulate.
According to sources, the US Embassy in Nairobi has identified Ruto together with other public figures it intends to block from entering the United States.
Ambassador Kyle McCarter is also hoping there will be more high profile names once Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji approves charges in the Arror and Kimwarer dams’ investigations scandal.