A section of leaders from Laikipia County have opposed the talks about having a female deputy president in the 2027 general elections as hinted by President William Ruto.
Speaking in Nyahururu town on Monday March 11, 2024, they said the move by the president to announce that United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party might front a woman deputy president is unacceptable.
“If he wants a woman to be deputy president in 2027, what will happen to Gachagua?
“We know it is Gachagua who campaigned for UDA in the 2022 elections, this means there are emerging wars between President Ruto and his deputy,” said one of the leaders.
He explained that in 2022, Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga had Martha Karua as his running mate but they lost in the elections.
He wondered how women didn’t overwhelmingly vote for Raila yet he had a female running mate in 2022.
According to Laikipia leaders, there is no way women can unite and vote for one of their own to become deputy president, insisting that Gachagua should be allowed to contest in the forthcoming elections as Ruto’s running mate.
Another resident insisted that discussions about a female deputy president should be taken seriously after the 2027 elections, adding that a strong female leader should come out to serve the people in order to be considered as suitable for taking the role of DP.
He added that there is no way party leaders can sit somewhere in a meeting to select a person who has not proved to be a dedicated leader in service delivery to the people of Kenya.
They argued that picking a female DP in the 2027 elections will stop the current Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from reigning for 10 years.
The residents are now asking UDA leadership to come out and clear the rumors about the existence of rift between the president and his deputy.
Meanwhile, some leaders claimed that the move is well calculated to tame the influence of Gachagua in Kenyan Politics.
At the same time, they vowed to oppose any move meant to divide the unity of Mt. Kenya people.
The sentiments emerged after President Ruto hinted that male aspirants seeking for posts of president or governor should take women as runningmates and vise versa.
Ruto made the remarks during the celebrations of marking the World Women’s day on Friday March 8, 2024.
