By Victor Ayugi (URP Youth Leader)
Kajiado Central by-election and why URP death was the biggest error of Judgement. The manifest loss that election by JAP to ODM, surely point to a much graver danger to the survival of Jubilee rule beyond 2017 and in particular our party leader Deputy President William Ruto’s political survival.
Nonetheless, as political authorities haggle over how a candidate who contested in JAP primaries and supposedly lost crossed over to opposition and despite facing earth moving state machinery still cruised home to victory—a lot is to be desired of the prematurely birthed political patchwork called JAP and the eagerness of Jubilee coalition supporters on the ground to receive it.
In fact, owing to the hurriedly and secretive manner it was formed, the colourless technocrats who run it, mystery behind its operations atop its weird corporate symbol of a dove with horned legs buried in a sea of screaming colors; the ballot resentments in Kajiado central couldn’t have been loud enough.
The people have spoken and the voice of the people is the voice of God. Nevertheless, the biggest casualty remains William Ruto. That JAP is even his child only rots the existing wound and waters down his highly rated political third-eye.
But the unpardonable reality is that Memusi Kanchory, the victor, was originally in URP ahead of JAP primaries.
Meanwhile in former rift valley, the sudden reawakening of KANU and resurgence of Gideon Moi is causing ripples and interest in equal measure. Gideon and his KANU is just rising to fill the void just as any scavenger would have done to reap from any spoils.
In the words of former British PM Winston Churchill “politics is, first, localâ€, and with the forceful strangling of URP to near death at a time it was now flowering beyond Kalenjin lands into the next big thing in our political terrain was terribly ill-thought, a tactical blunder and the biggest error of judgement.
You don’t substitute your best player, just us you wouldn’t change the name of your team at its prime. Think of Arsenal changing name and identity, when its corporate image is already stuck in the hearts and minds of it die-hard supporters.
Even as this happens, the Deputy President must now listen to the voice of reason within his URP even in its current state south League.
In his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell explains through the law of connection that a leader must touch a heart before touching a hand, and sincerely, to do this he would only connect to their hearts using his ears. Ruto is forewarned.
It’s natural that a good leader encourages his supporters to tell him what he needs to know not what he wants to hear.
Several URP members feel with formation of JAP, and immolation of URP by it, the Rift valley (kalenjins) now lack identity. They knew URP was their home and now that it has been demolished,they don’t have anywhere to shelter.
This same tragedy is shared by  pastrolists community i.e the maa, pokots,tugen and kipsigis who are evidently not happy with turn of events. In fact, the pokots left during disarmament exercise by the Kenya Defence Forces and the the Kipsigis who determine the political destiny of Kalenjins are on their way out.
When they realized that there is no pasture for their livestock they left in masses Due to lack of a political home, the political migration is getting real each passing day. Kipsigis who incidentally define Rift Valley politics are inching closer to Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto, Maasais as heading to ODM all these misfortunes thanks to the psychotic YES MEN around the DP whose antenna long lost touch with real time political developments on the ground.
Not too late though, the die has not been cast yet. The DP can still salvage things by reviving the true political identity of his stronghold, URP whose roots had taken penetrated deep in the hearts and minds of his supporters. Any further miscalculation would only result to Gideon Moi being picked to wear William Rutos shoes as DP in future, because things are happening so fast and inversely assisted by death of our home URP by our own folly and political short-sightedness.
Think of it, if URP was there — we would add a new arrow to our quiver called Hon.Kanchory Memusi MP Kajiado Central.
To conclude in the words of John C Maxwell in his book 21 Indispensible Qualities of a leader ,“before a leader can touch a people heart, he must know what is in it. He learns by listeningâ€.
The DP must now listen to his supporters who have his interest deep in their hearts
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