KANU chairman Gideon Moi has accused President William Ruto of failing to honour commitments he says were made in negotiations that led him to abandon his bid for the Baringo Senate seat in 2025.
Moi made the remarks on Friday, October 23, while addressing elders and representatives of various Kalenjin sub-tribes at his Kabarak home in Nakuru County, where he also sought forgiveness from the community over his decision to withdraw from the senatorial race.
The former Baringo senator said he had agreed to step aside after trusting assurances that development concerns affecting residents would be addressed but claimed the commitments remained unfulfilled nearly a year later.
“I waited and waited until now,” Moi said, expressing frustration over what he described as repeated delays in resolving the matter.
He maintained that his negotiations with the president were not driven by personal interests but by the need to secure development benefits for Baringo residents, including the completion of stalled projects.
Moi’s withdrawal from the race followed a meeting with Ruto at State House in October 2025. The President subsequently acknowledged that he had personally requested the KANU leader to step aside, paving the way for United Democratic Alliance candidate Vincent Kiprono Chemitei, who won the November 27 by-election
The seat had fallen vacant following the death of Senator William Cheptumo in February 2025.
Moi said the delays in addressing the outstanding issues had strained the political understanding between the two leaders. He also pushed back against claims that he was using the Standard Group media organisation, in which he is a shareholder, to undermine the government.
The meeting comes amid renewed political manoeuvring in the Rift Valley as leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Moi’s remarks have raised fresh questions about the future of his relationship with Ruto and KANU’s political direction as the next election approaches.
However, the claims regarding the alleged agreement and its unfulfilled commitments remain Moi’s account of the negotiations. The precise terms of the arrangement have not been independently established in a publicly available agreement.