The tension in Jubilee is quickly evolving into a full-blown cold war with President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto yet to meet face to face for three weeks with an earlier meeting cancelled at the last minute.
Mistrust has found its way between the between the once inseparable pair that captivated the public with their bromance at public events with 2022 succession politics and the battle for Jubilee’s soul taking center stage.
The Saturday Standard quoted a source close to the presidency confirming that “There is little communication from the two. There is some mistrust between them.”
Meeting at public event cancelled in unclear circumstances
The two Jubilee Party luminaries were scheduled to meet at the launch Mama Ngina Waterfront but this did not materials as the DP skipped the event at the last minute in unclear circumstances.
Earlier on, DP’s spokesperson David Mugonyi had confirmed that he would be present stating that “The DP will travel on Sunday so as to attend the launch the following day.”.
While President Uhuru Kenyatta has extended his working tour at the Coast, the DP has been shuttling between his Karen and Sugoi home, hosting delegations.
DP Ruto's reduced tours
In the wake of the fallout started by former Jubilee Party Vice Chair David Murathe, the DP has significantly reduced his frequent tours across the country which attracted the “tangatanga remarks” from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
While the DP maintained that the tours were in promotion of Jubilee’s development agenda, 2022 succession politics often found its way.
Jubilee party hit turbulence after former party vice chair asserted that the DP should retire with President Kenyatta in 2022, threatening to go to the Supreme Court to stop Ruto’s 2022 bid.
This was a follow up to earlier remarks that the Jubilee party has no pact with DP Ruto in relation to his 2022 bid.
His remarks irked a section of DP Ruto’s allies who came out guns blazing, demanding that the President should declare his stand on supporting DP Ruto in 2022.