Are some leaders from Mount Kenya blackmailing Deputy President William Ruto over the running mate position? We are told the Mt Kenya tribal bevvy are selfishly insisting that Ruto's deputy must be from the region, lest they withdraw their material and financial support in Kenya Kwanza. They are also quietly threatening to re-ignite ethnic animosity between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities if their wishes aren’t granted. Those engaged in the insidious exercise believe that Ruto favours Musalia Mudavadi and may just hand him the second most powerful position in the coalition.
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As the battle for the Jubilee ticket triggers a fierce storm in one of the Mt Kenya counties, a governor aspirant is threatening to decamp. The aspirant is said to have met with politicians allied to a rival camp and they are said to have agreed the aspirant would join their team. The aspirant could be announced in the coming weeks, in what would deflate the Jubilee party's efforts to capture the seat. There are reports the rival camp promised to refund the aspirant the costs spent during the campaigns as part of their bargain.
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A senior Jubilee politician at the centre of the ongoing nominations exercise is in the eye of a storm. There are claims by some aspirants the man has been engaging in some irregularities and subverting procedures to sabotage poor aspirants. Worst hit are the MCA aspirants seeking the party's tickets. It is alleged the official has been asking aspirants for 'some facilitation' outside the laid-down procedures to enable them get the tickets. He is said to have been meeting the aspirants at a Nairobi hotel late into the night. He leased a room at the hotel and hired an assistant who is working with him on the manoeuvres.
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A senior detective was shocked two weeks ago when she walked to a police station in the CBD of a town in the North Rift to report the robbery of her mobile phone just outside the station in broad daylight. A cop she found at the station told her she was the sixth person to report such a robbery. Then he said the thieves were hiding somewhere called Matisi in the town and the issue is known to all officers there but they can't do much to help. The female officer felt shamed by the treatment at the station and wondered what ordinary residents are going through. Since then, no officer has called her to follow up on the theft.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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