Deputy President William Ruto visited Kirinyaga County on Sunday to stamp his popularity in the region.

His visit came in the wake of hot political temperatures in the region with the rivalry between Governor Ann Waiguru and her arch-nemesis Wangui Ngirici deepening.

During his visit, Ruto attended a church service at Kinyaga ACK, in the county.

The DP also held meetings with the people at Kinyaga, Kutus and Kerugoya towns.

While delivering his speeches, Ruto tactfully downplayed the political rivalry between Governor Waiguru and gubernatorial aspirant Ngirici.

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The DP said he would not influence the nominations, as it was the people who have the power to choose their preferred candidate.

"I shall not influence the nominations. You are the people who have the power and the final say on who your preferred candidate is," Ruto said.

The tension was palpable during Ruto’s visit to Kirinyaga as supporters of Waiguru and Ngirici locked horns earlier in the day.

The chaos ensued when Waiguru’s supporters distributed reflector jackets with Waiguru’s image in the morning.

The gesture did not amuse Ngirici’s supporters, who felt provoked and took away the jackets and torched them. It took the intervention of the police to quell the chaos.

The rivalry between Waiguru and Ngirichi was aggravated by Waiguru’s defection to UDA. This has forced Ngirici to take rethink her political strategy.

The two who had been jostling over who would host Ruto during his visit did not even shake hands when they all met at the meetings.

They are considered the two main contesters in the Kirinyaga gubernatorial race and will first face-off during the party nominations.