Sunday, 08 April 2012 23:57 BY STAR REPORTER
RIFT Valley MPs opposed to Eldoret North MP William Ruto have planned a major meeting in Eldoret to counter the recent Kamatusa forum which made resolutions on the political future of the Kalenjin communities. Ministers Frankline Bett, Musa Sirma, Margaret Kamar and Sally Kosgey are among those invited to the meeting to be hosted by the Rift Valley Progressive Political Forum for Change on Wednesday. Representatives from all the counties in the region led by elders will attend the meeting during which they will to offer an alternative leadership strategy for the community ahead of the next general election.
The elders, who met in Eldoret and agreed to host the forum, included Jackson Kibor, Seid Keitany and David Chepsiror. The planning meeting was also attended by ODM Uasin Gishu county vice chairman David Songok and Kipkorir Menjo. "We will have the meeting tentatively on Wednesday but we are liaising with the leaders to agree on the date. It may change if they request to have it pushed," Menjo said.
The meeting will bring together representatives from political parties in the region who are competing against Ruto's United Republican Party. Menjo said parties which have agreed to send representatives include Kanu, Narc Kenya, ODM, Vision Party, UDM among others. Elders, youth and women representatives from the communities in the region will also attend the forum which will also discuss management of counties in the region and other economic matters including employment for the youth.
Some Rift Valley leaders reacted angrily to resolutions of the Kamatusa meeting hosted by Ruto and more than 30 MPs along with the Kalenjin Elders Council. Among other things they proposed to have athletes from the Kalenjin community boycott the London Olympics to protest against the ICC case against Ruto and his colleagues. They also endorsed Ruto as their presidential candidate and that URP will be the region's party in the forthcoming general election. They also resolved to collect three million signatures to oppose the ICC cases. "We are opposed to tribal groupings and the undemocratic resolutions they made. We cannot be dictated by an individual and his cronies. Kalenjins are not up for sale by anyone and we have our democratic right to make our own decisions," Songok said. The anti-Ruto group has cautioned the Kalenjin community to avoid being misled by URP sympathisers.
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