That followed a decade as Odinga's legal advisor successfully challenging Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential win in 2017...

Cheruiyot is one of the few remaining advisors from Ruto's days as Uhuru Kenyatta's deputy and the 2022 election campaign when he was Ruto's chief agriculture advisor...

Ruto's chief spy is National Security Advisor Joseph Boinnet who was promoted in April from deputy replacing the cerebral Monica Juma a senior cabinet minister during Uhuru Kenyatta's presidency who later became Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as running the UN's office in Vienna (AC Vol 65 No 7 A one-man diplomatic mission)...

After early career stints at the UN Environment Programme and UN-Habitat Kimani became a close ally of former President Uhuru Kenyatta who appointed him Director of Kenya's National Counter Terrorism Centre and Presidential Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism in 2015 (AC Vol 58 No 22 A question of legitimacy)...

His office has approached Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang'i a close ally of former president Uhuru Kenyatta about joining a ‘national conversation'...

At the 2022 general election the Jubilee Party – formed by Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta in 2012 – held the seat through David Kiaraho who died in March beating Ngotho then the UDA candidate by around 4 700 votes...

As Education and Interior Cabinet Secretary during Uhuru Kenyatta's presidency Matiang'i was seen as tough and effective...

The former deputy president hosted businessman and Safina Party leader Jimi Wanjigi a close former ally of ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta and one of the scions of Mount Kenya politics at his home last week...

Never one to forget personal slights President William Ruto may applaud Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei's motion seeking to strip former President Uhuru Kenyatta of his retirement benefits...

Much of NADCO's painstakingly negotiated agenda agreed after the 2022 general election and Ruto's narrow bitterly contested victory over Odinga rehashes the Building Bridges Initiative set up by Odinga and then President Uhuru Kenyatta (AC Vol 66 No 19 A referendum redux & Vol 65 No 7 Re-opening the commission's wounds)...

There is still speculation that Ruto's allies led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi will try to push through constitutional amendments that look remarkably similar to those in the Building Bridges Initiative – the result of the handshake deal between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga that was supposed to carry the latter to the presidency in 2022...

For the moment the most viable candidates are Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Fred Matiang'i leader of what remains of the former president Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party (AC Vol 65 No 17 Kenyatta's favourite minister plans presidential bid)...