Eight months after sealing a political alliance that both men celebrated publicly, President William Ruto has turned on KANU chairman Gideon Moi in a rare social media outburst, accusing him of using The Standard newspaper to blackmail his administration into submission.
The fallout traces back to October 9, 2025, when Ruto hosted Gideon at State House Nairobi before the two travelled to the Moi family home in Baringo to formalise what both sides described as a partnership anchored on national unity and shared development goals.
Ruto announced that KANU had agreed to join his broad-based government, standing alongside ODM which had signed a similar cooperation pact with UDA earlier in the year, forming what the president described as a coalition committed to moving Kenya forward together.
The president was warm about the deal at the time, comparing Kenya’s potential to that of Singapore, promising Baringo a stadium and a university in Kabarnet, and describing the alliance as a decisive step toward economic transformation.
A major outcome of the October deal was Gideon withdrawing from the Baringo senatorial race, clearing the way for a UDA candidate who went on to win the seat and consolidate Kenya Kwanza’s presence in the region.
Eight months later the goodwill from that handshake had completely evaporated.
On Wednesday Ruto took to his official account and addressed Gideon directly by name, accusing him of weaponising The Standard to extract concessions from the government through a sustained run of damaging front page headlines targeting his administration.
“GMoi, your Standard media’s 5 days a week extortionist propaganda headlines on me and my administration’s transformative track record will get you nothing and nowhere. Blackmail to yield to your greed? Never. Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu 8 days a week. Do your worst,” Ruto wrote.
Ruto did not disclose what specific demands Gideon had made, saying only that greed had poisoned the October pact and that no volume of negative coverage would push him into giving ground.
The Standard had on the same day carried a front page story on protest anxiety ahead of Thursday’s June 25 demonstrations, featuring Ruto, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General Douglas Kanja across the cover.