NYERI, Kenya, Oct 25 – Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and his entourage encountered hostile reception Saturday afternoon as he popularized the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitutional review in Nyeri Town.
Trouble stated after a section of the residents shouted him down making chants in support of the Deputy President William Ruto.
The former Vice-President embarked on a popularization tour of the document in the Mount Kenya counties of Nyahururu, Nyandarua, Laikipia and Nyeri on Friday.
“Ruto! Ruto! Ruto!” the crowd chanted.
“We want Ruto. He is our man and a fellow hustler,” another youth roared.
Kalonzo’s BBI popularization tours mirrored similar campaigns mounted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nyanza and Nairobi ahead of the formal unveiling of the report at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi on Monday, October 26.
DP Ruto has been making inroads in the larger central region to sell what he has fashioned as a hustler nation leadership, often making contributions to youth groups and boda boda associations through fundraisers.
His fallout with President Kenyatta took a dramatic turn recently after the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) recommended suspension of all political gatherings not cleared by the police three days prior to the intended meeting, ostensibly to contain him.
Subsequently, following the approval of NSAC guidelines by the Cabinet on October 8, Ruto’s meetings in Western Kenya were disallowed and allies teargassed by the police at the coast.
The State-imposed gag however appears to have been relaxed with Ruto making unrestricted visits Nyamira and Meru.
