Why must they back Raila
Are their lives depended on Raila. Politician are interested in POWER AND MONEY. You're desperate. If Ruto offered them the same deal - they will grab both hands. Of course they know GEMA has already taken a large portion of Ruto power.
ODM has mistreated it partners - because it saw two GEMA birds in the bush - and left the one bird at hand. Now the GEMA bird has flown to the peak of Mt Kenya where it's almost unreachable and the bird at hand just slipped.
This is the Raila curse - it a syphian curse. Now the climb to Mt Kenya start again from the bottom - and when he just about - the birds will fly away
and comeback 5yrs later.
Presidency or anything is WON THROUGH consolidation of SMALL GAINS over time.
Now it's almost comical to be doing the same thing - destroy coalition - then last minute try to scramble. IT never worked.
ODM in 2007 lost Kalonzo and lost the election. Raila then lost Kalenjin - and of course lost 2013 and 2017.
Now as we speak he is back to SQUARE ZERO in ODM - with coast, turkanas and others having taken a hike - after he betrayed all the oppressed communities who had identified with Luo long political suffering in ODM as having similar cause - by siding so shamelesly with GEMA 1Km1SHs - hoping he will get GEMA
. FALA sana. With BBI - he was willing to sell the country to GEMA - and he still wont have made PORK - giving central more constitutuency while they have the most protected already.
He thought GEMA will respect a political prostitute - while they saw someone so unreliable he can pretty much dumb anybody however long the political association.
Ruto stuck with win-win and GEMA respected that - Ruto doesnt bend backwards like Kalonzo used to almost prostrate hoping he will get GEMA. Kibaki and GEMA just saw Kalonzo for what he is - a feeckle man - who just flow with the wind.
In short Raila is now really LUO LEADER.
If there is one thing Ruto can teach Raila - it's how to consolidate, how to keep friends, how to be reliable partner and how not cut bridges.2015-17 these guys made similar noises about it is Raila turn to tosha Kalonzo. By 2017 Mdvd joined and they rebranded CORD to NASA. Next year expect them to join Jubilee & Kanu in Handshake coalition. They saw divide & conquer by-election strategy is very effective: everyone to round up their tribe & clan and gang up later.
When these pro-Handshake guys take gloves off - start attacking each other as viciously as they do to Ruto. Maybe then. Now apart from cheap lie about party funds or "trust" - all I see is concerted deconstruction of the bottom-up model. Only Weta seems genuinely bitter - but scared of facing up to Ford K party feuds - otherwise Kalonzo & Mdvd need to sell their base why they are backing Raila for PORK 3rd time without reciprocity. So they must grumble about betrayal until April 2022 - exactly 2017 redux.
Be objective and assume a more natural course of events: one or two Weta or Oparanya leaves NASA. One or two Kiunjuri or Kuria leaves UDA camp.
This is just last-minute Handshake coalition loading.