Rift Valley kingpin ‘post’ still vacant, Kalenjin elders declare 

The tussle for Rift Valley political supremacy between deputy president William Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has drawn in the Kalenjin Council of Elders (Myoot) whose leader insists the community’s spokesman has not been crowned yet.

The elders waded into the push and pull between the DP and Mr Moi over the coronation of the region’s political spokesperson, which turned ugly on Saturday when the Kanu chairman was blocked by youths allied to the DP from accessing Kapsisiywa, Nandi County.

Mr Moi was on a mission to see elders of the Talai clan, the descendants of Nandi legendary leader Koitelel Samoei, who are highly respected and are said to foresee the fortunes of leaders.

Myoot is the umbrella body of all the 10 sub-tribes of Kalenjin – Nandi, Kipsigis, Tugen, Marakwet, Keiyo, Pokot, Sabaot, Cherang’any, Ogiek and Terik. 

The council’s chairman Benjamin Kitur told the Nation yesterday the region’s political kingpin ‘post’ is still vacant hence the coronation which was performed by the Talai Council of Elders in June last year should not be interpreted that DP William Ruto is now the ‘chosen one’.

He disclosed that preparations are in top gear to bring all the community’s elders, including the Talai, together with the DP and Mr Moi and decide who will be the community’s political kingpin.

“What the Talai did last year belongs to that clan, as Myoot we are planning ours which will be a public event and the whole world will know who will be crowned,” said Mr Kitur.

He said the duo are their sons and there is no way they can be divided on the basis of who is to be the community’s spokesperson.

“Soon there will be a meeting of all the 10 sub-tribes under the Myoot spiritual leaders, Ruto and Moi. We ill make a declaration of who is to be the community’s kingpin but there is no way we will allow division because both of them are our sons,” said Mr Kitur.

But sources within the Myoot yesterday said the duo are embroiled in a protracted coronation battle because it is believed that the person who has been endorsed by the Talai Council of Elders is likely to be crowned by elders of the 10 sub-tribes as the region’s spokesperson.

“Since Talai clan have been blessed with powers of seeing the future, in most cases, the person who they usually coronate emerges as the candidate to be crowned by the entire community as the spokesperson,” said one of the Myoot elders.

Neither Myoot chairperson Mr Kitur nor Talai Council of Elders boss Mr James Bassy could deny the assertion.

Political pundits claim that DP Ruto has the upper hand over the Baringo Senator as the younger Moi is seen to have banked on his father’s political might to be relevant.

The exit of senior Moi opened a new political door for Senator Moi to prove he is his own man politically.

Talai coronation

The late President Moi and then powerful minister Nicholas Biwott are among leaders who were crowned with Kalenjin traditional regalia 'Sambut' that saw them have a big say in the political arena.

When the Supreme Court nullified presidential results in 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy returned to Nandi Hills museum where the Talai clan performed rituals and blessed them and assured them they would rule until the second term ends without problems.

These are some of the reasons cited on why the Talai coronation remains a do or die for the DP and Gideon.

“Coronation is biblical and in our tradition, we cherish it, we blessed the late Moi in 1957, Jomo Kenyatta in 1964, Mwai Kibaki in 2005 and Uhuru in 2017 and if you look at their political muscle, it was well and since this a God-given gift, we don’t sell it,” Mr Bassy said.

The Talai clan found in Kapsisiywa in Nandi county as well as Kericho, Bomet and Trans-Nzoia counties are split on how the cultural practice should be performed and the emerging political and personal interests among the members.

The clan is divided into five sub-clans – Kapturgat, Kapsonet, Kapsogon, Kapmursoi and Kapchesang.

Frederick Songol of the Talai Council of Elders said that initially, the DP had ignored them until he faced the troubles in the ruling Jubilee Party when he opted for the clan’s blessing which he attributes to his latest popularity.

The Myoot is divided about reconciling the two. Whereas some elders are insisting that DP Ruto’s State House race should be supported by all, another group of elders want the Kalenjin community to be allowed to exercise their democratic right in voting for a leader of their choice.

After being blocked on his way to Kapsisiywa, it emerged yesterday that the Baringo Senator held a closed door meeting with the North Rift leaders at the home of one time Eldoret North MP Reuben Chesire in Ziwa, Soy constituency, Uasin Gishu County.

The Kanu party boss met some of the leaders who are leaning towards his camp, including Elgeyo-Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos, Uasin Gishu Senator Margaret Kamar, and MPs William Chepkut (Ainabkoi), Mishra Swarrup (Kesses) and Sila Tiren (Moiben). 

“After the botched coronation, the leaders resolved that another one will happen at a later date, they also discussed how to popularise the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and how to push for farmers' issues in the region,” said the source.