Lee Njiru, President Daniel Arap Moi’s long-serving press secretary joins Ruto’s camp
Lee Njiru, former President Daniel Arap Moi’s long-serving press secretary joins Ruto’s camp as he campaigned against Raymond Moi in Rongai.
Prior to Monday’s polls, Lee Njiru, the longtime press secretary for President Daniel Arap Moi, supported Paul Chebor of the United Democratic Alliance, Raymond Moi’s most formidable opponent for the Rongai parliamentary seat.
Lee Njiru, a trusted aide of Mzee Moi for over 40 years, made the revelations on Wednesday when he hosted the Kenya Kwanza brigade led by Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua at his Geranium resort in Ngata, Nakuru County.
He said it was clear “William Ruto commands a huge following in both Mt Kenya and the Rift Valley regions”.
“It is, therefore, not wise to go against the Ruto wave in the regions. Anybody going against the grain in the regions can definitely not survive,” he told the Nation.
He argued that he is free to back anybody or whatever political group he sees fit.
He cited Mzee Moi, Mwai Kibaki, and Raila Odinga as prominent people who also changed their political allegiance in their time, saying “it is all about choice and timing”.
“Nobody owns Kenyans. Kenyans are nobody’s slaves. Equally, nobody owns the people of Rongai, they can always decide on their own,” Njiru added.
On Wednesday, the Gachagua-led Kenya Kwanza team held a consultative meeting with him in Ngata before they stormed various parts of Rongai to campaign for Mr. Chebor, alias Mamba.
Njiru, for the first time, openly backed Mr. Chebor against Moi’s son Raymond Moi who is facing a huge task to retain his Rongai parliamentary seat.
The race is a do-or-die contest for Raymond Moi, the only Mzee Moi son still holding an elective seat after his young brother, Gideon lost his Baringo senatorial seat.
If Raymond loses his seat it might mark the end of the Moi dynasty in the Rift Valley and, by extension, the country.
William Ruto is keen to exert his dominance in the Rift Valley by vanquishing the Moi family’s influence in Rift Valley.
Yesterday, Ruto’s allies rallied residents to help drive the last nail on the Moi dynasty.
They called on residents to elect Paul Chebor, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.
“We already uprooted Gideon Moi from Baringo. I want to urge residents of Rongai to turn up in large numbers on Monday and vote overwhelmingly for Paul Chebor,” Gachagua told a crowd in Lower Solai.
Gachagua asked voters to reject Raymond Moi “and allow him to retire to go and enjoy Moi’s wealth.”
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