Schism in Kenya Ruling Party May Revive Rift Valley Tensions
- Reconciliation between president, rival threatens party unity
- Some want deputy president blocked from seeking future office
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An alliance that helped deliver Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta two terms in office is fracturing, reviving tensions in the country’s Rift Valley region that was wracked by widespread violence a decade ago.
The deputy chairman of the ruling Jubilee Party stepped down on Sunday after saying Deputy President William Ruto shouldn’t be allowed to succeed Kenyatta. That undermines an arrangement in which Ruto delivered the backing of his Rift Valley constituents for Kenyatta’s elections in 2013 and 2017, in return for assistance from the president’s supporters in the next vote in 2022.