The outstanding absence of KANU chairman Gideon Moi in Azimio La Umoja activities and planning of mass action has become a subject of debate amongst the supporters of Opposition Chief, Raila Amollo Odinga.
Gideon has also taken a backseat in his own Kanu party where he is facing hostility from a faction led by his disgruntled Secretary General Nick Salat.
The Kanu chairman was completely punctured after losing his Baringo senatorial seat to William Cheptumo, former Baringo North MP.
Gideon is silently planning to rebrand himself and does not want to appear to be engaged in another losing battle with President William Ruto.
In fact, the entire Moi family has thrown in the towel including Raymond Moi who also been missing in action since losing Rongai parliamentary seat to Paul Chebor of the president’s UDA party.
The Moi family has chosen to concentrate in business after unsuccessfully backing Odinga to succeed Uhuru Kenyatta as the president.
Salat was angered after Azimio released a list in which Kanu nominees were missing as he also questioned the motive behind the move by Gideon Moi to withdraw his name.
Unknown to Salat, Mr. Moi who was expected to be in the list withdrew his candidature to save his face after getting intelligence reports that he [Salat] was axed out.
Kanu had no slot according to the sharing formula adopted by Odinga but Moi and Salat were banking on the goodwill of the opposition chief to donate a slot to them in the spirit of friendship.
But Salat believes that Gideon chickened out of the race as he accused him of running down and personalizing the party.
The Kanu SG who is said to have been funded by President William Ruto is currently stimulating his network within and outside the party to take Gideon head-on and topple him from chairmanship.
State House wants the independence party completely dead as part of efforts to root out any competition in the president’s Rift Valley backyard.
Salat who is acting bitter has vowed not to allow Mr. Moi to kill the party as escalating wrangles force the former Baringo senator to keep off Azimio activities.
But Gideon and Raymond defeats marked the end of an era for the family of former President Moi, a despot who must be disturbed in his grave due to the blunders of his own children.
Getting rid of Gideon from the political stage was part of Ruto’s elaborate plan to dismantle the so-called dynasties formed by the late Moi, Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga families that have controlled Kenya’s political space since independence.
Gideon will either go back to drawing board or just burry his presidential hopes. He backed Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017 with hopes that he would be the next president.
He thought his dream would come true by teaming up with Odinga who was Uhuru’s choice, as he waited for his turn. Gideon was a key player in Odinga’s 2022 presidential run as he coerced Kalonzo Musyoka to join Azimio after Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula bolted out of OKA and formed Kenya Kwanza Alliance with Ruto.
But State House has just capitalized on feud that has been on for a long time. When Azimio-One Kenya coalition unveiled its presidential running mate in May, Salat was among senior KANU officials who snubbed the event.
It’s only Kanu chairman Gideon Moi who made a technical appearance at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), where Odinga unveiled Martha Karua as his deputy before joining his Wiper counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka as he announced his decision to leave Azimio at his Command Centre in Karen.
