NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Barely six months after elections, Kenya's political scene is slowly changing as succession politics starts in earnest.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is serving his second and final term and would therefore not be eligible to run again.
Come 2022, the year when the next general election would be conducted, it would be an open race for anyone with ambitions to be president.
The winning strategy for the politicians, it seems, hinges on the phrase, "The early bird catches the worm."
This is despite the fact that Kenyatta has asked the politicians, both in the ruling party Jubilee and the opposition, to stop campaigns and focus on development.
His desire to secure his legacy saw him make peace with his main rival in last year's polls Raila Odinga to cool political temperatures.
Their truce on March 9 is among the developments that are shaping the political scene, having led to the split of opposition coalition National Super Alliance (NASA) which Odinga was its presidential candidate in 2017 polls.
Those who have started the race for the top seat in 2022 include Deputy President William Ruto, senators Gideon Moi and Moses Wetangula, NASA leaders Musalia Mudavadi and Kalonzo Musyoka and Odinga's name is being bandied around by supporters.
Ruto leads the pack as he holds dozens of fundraisers across the country, meets politicians from various regions and launches development projects.
However, even as he builds his political base quietly, he had publicly dismissed the succession debate.
"The debate of who will get what post in 2022 is not necessary currently. Our agenda as leaders should be to concentrate on fulfilling the pledges we made to the people last year," said Ruto recently.
The other leaders are making declarations mainly through proxies as they play it safe.
An opinion poll released on Tuesday by Ipsos-Synovate ranked Ruto ahead of the rest.
The poll shows he was the most preferred candidate to be president in 2022 by 33 percent, followed by Moi. Odinga ranked four.
Tom Wolf, the chief researcher, said the poll was conducted before Odinga-Kenyatta truce, thus, the political terrain had changed.
Henry Wandera, an economics lecturer in Nairobi, noted that while it looks too early to start 2022 politics, it's not.
"In my view, this would be a tough political race. Since the incumbent would not be vying, it is wide open therefore the earlier started the better," he said on Wednesday.
He noted that from those interested in the seat, about four would emerge as serious contenders, but added that there would be realignments that include formation of coalitions as time goes by.
"I see Ruto, Odinga, Moi and another person, either Kalonzo or Mudavadi vying for the presidency but how they play their politics from now going forward would matter," he said.
He observed that with claims of betrayal having led to the collapse of NASA, the opposition outfit would not front a united candidate in the polls but leaders would seek other cooperation.
The political analyst, however, acknowledged 2022 political talk is currently not palatable to ordinary Kenyans.
"People want jobs, houses, better education and good income and this cannot happen if politics takes center-stage," he said.
A majority of ordinary Kenyans have dismissed the early campaigns even though they are keen on having those they support run come the time.
"I believe we should wait for at least two years from now to start succession politics but it is their right," said furniture maker Duncan Onyango, adding he would love to see Odinga run again for presidency in 2022.
"We want to see leaders work for the common person by coming up with programs and policies that change lives. Politicking all the time derails a country," noted Herbert Muriu, a public service vehicle driver.
On social media, Kenyans are divided on the 2022 politics debate, with some welcoming it while a majority dismisses it.
"We should not allow opinion pollsters to derail the country's development. We are barely six months after elections and already someone is fronting candidates for 2022. It is their right but we should not be caught into their games," said Raphael Musinzi on Twitter, where the issue was a hot debate on Tuesday.
