Nairobi — Such was the climax to the fierce rivalry between the Prime Minister and Agriculture minister this week that one would be forgiven for imagining that there is little in common between them.

After all, premier Raila Odinga is a veteran of several presidential campaigns while his protagonist, William Ruto, is a relative neophyte who came into his own just before the chaotic General Election of December 2007.

Add to that the fact that Mr Odinga was a long-standing opponent of President Moi, whom Mr Ruto served as a youth activist and, later, in his last Cabinet. But there the differences appear to end dramatically.

Essentially, the two politicians are very much alike in character and strategy. Ruto, for instance, has been a student of Raila, who has built his political career over the years around rebellion, a grassroots operator and a daring politician.

Even though Ruto has ruffled many feathers due to what is perceived as his fierce ambitions and the tendency to be in a hurry, there is consensus that Ruto is simply treating Raila to his own medicine by re-enacting his path to the top.

Those close to Ruto argue that Raila sees an image of himself in Ruto and knows that the Agriculture minister can easily pull the rug from under his feet. Ruto sees Raila as belonging to the old generation who are blocking the young from fulfilling their full potential, fast.

Unknown to many, the genesis of this love-hate relationship revolves around many old issues predating the Mau and the controversy over the trial of the perpetrators of post-election violence. They include the issue of the inheritance of the clout of former President Daniel Moi in Rift Valley, the circumstances under which they came together in 2007, and the issue of generational change.

But the current rivalry started in the run-up to the 2007 elections when Ruto -- despite having put his bet on Kalonzo Musyoka -- was forced to back Raila due to pressure from the ground. According to the minister for Immigration, Otieno Kajwang', Ruto has always believed that Raila and the Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, are standing in the way of youthful politicians who want to bring a new type of leadership to the country.

"He looked at the pecking order and realised that had Raila won and Mudavadi made the heir-apparent, he would have had to wait for close to 20 years. He then decided to take a route that could bring him nearer to the presidency faster," said Mr Kajwang'.

But then, Raila, appears not to have forgotten an upsetting incident in early 2007 at Raila's house when Ruto told him to his face that his ethnicity would not be acceptable to Kenyans and that Mr Musyoka stood a better chance.At that time, the original ODM was looking for a compromise between Raila, Musyoka, and Mudavadi.

From then on, Raila decided to put his trust in Henry Kosgey and Sally Kosgey as his pointmen in the Rift Valley. Thus, Ruto has always been up against the two Kosgeys in the war of supremacy in the region because he believes that they represent the old order of the Moi days. The two, however, cannot bring themselves to bow down to the younger Ruto.

"Ruto knows that however much he fights for Raila, he will always be overshadowed by the two Kosgeys in the eyes of Raila. This is because he was among the last Kalenjin personalities who joined Raila because of pressure form the people," said Yatich arap Namba, who contested the Baringo Central seat in 2007 on ODM-Kenya ticket.

Raila and Ruto have always handled each other with some reservations despite the appearance of closeness they exhibited during the campaigns and during the Serena negotiations, where ODM was fighting for concessions from a rather recalcitrant PNU team.

According to a supporter of the Agriculture minister who requested anonymity, Raila realised, to his dismay, that he had given Ruto a very influential ministry with many departments and which allows the youthful politician to move throughout the country selling himself in the process.

The history of their relationship shows that the two were forced by circumstances to come together following the exit of Moi from the political scene. This was around late 2003 when the then NARC administration started threatening Moi that they would repossess his house at Kabarnet Gardens and make him take the stand at the Goldenberg trials.

The then Constitutional Affairs minister, Kiraitu Murungi, rubbed in the salt by telling Moi to go and look after his goats, watch TV and learn how good governance works. Raila came to the rescue and told his colleagues to leave the former president alone. Cracks had emerged within NARC that Kibaki was not honouring an MoU and was stuffing the civil service and government corporations with people from Mt Kenya region.

Being a smart politician, Ruto, who was then in Kanu, took the cue to not only defend Moi, but also complained about the fact that Moi's appointees were being hounded out of office in droves. At that time, the two started warming up to each other since they found a common enemy in Kibaki. Soon, the two later found another common enemy in Moi. The former president has never forgiven Raila for destroying Kanu.

Then came the Bomas constitutional process and the 2005 referendum and the relationship was cemented through the NO group, whose symbol was Orange. Then came the scramble for the ODM flag bearer and that is when the seeds of suspicion were planted. But it is the same Ruto that ensured that Mr Musyoka sought an alternative.