We haven’t insulted Uhuru, says Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto yesterday denied that he and his running-mate Rigathi Gachagua insult President Uhuru Kenyatta due to perceived political differences.

Speaking in Nyeri county, Ruto said to the contrary, close associates of Azimio-One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga are the ones on record having abused Uhuru, yet he was blaming him and Gachagua, who in effect assisted him to ascend to the presidency in 2013 and 2017.

“Sometimes my running-mate and I are amused by comments that we have insulted Uhuru. I want to say here that it is Junet Mohamed, Babu Owino and Hassan Joho, who are on record hurling abuses at him yet they are now pretending to be his friends,” Ruto said.

 He said it is wrong for Uhuru, whom they supported for 10 years to imply that there is no credible leader to lead Kenyans in his support base of Mt Kenya and Rift Valley and urge them to support Raila. 

“The problem we encountered was when Raila joined us through the backdoor of Handshake. This is when Uhuru decided to sideline some of us resulting to the death of our economic dreams,” Ruto said.

The Kenya Kwanza presidential flagbearer stated that the high cost of living is a result of poor understanding of hardships Kenyans go through, saying that once he takes over, that would be a thing of the past.

“The problem we have at the moment is that most of those at the helm have never slept hungry in their lifetime, since most of them belong to dynasties who have had much to eat and waste,” Ruto said. 

The Kenya Kwanza presidential flagbearer urged Nyeri residents to come out in large numbers to vote for the coalition, saying they have the solutions to problems bedevilling the nation.

Leaders who accompanied Ruto included Rigathi, who called for a six-piece suite to ensure Kenya Kwanza government is able to fulfil its mandate.

Political choices

“I want to urge you to vote for all our candidates so that once we take office we are able to fulfil what we promised at grassroot level,” Rigathi said.

Speaking later in Murang’a, he said no Kenyan should be intimidated into making specific political choices.

 “We want a transparent and fair process and people be left to make choose leaders they want,” he said.  “They are sensing defeat and have now resulted to attacking IEBC and causing panic in some area. We will not let this to happen.”

Rigathi said Kenya is a democratic country and people should be left to make their own decisions without any coercion or intimidation. “I urge you not to let people who have no agenda to run this country because they are going to run it down instead of reviving our economy,” he remarked.

 Ruto exuded confidence of emerging the winner, saying he is banking on the support from his supporters countrywide.

 “They used to say they will elect a president through the System and Deep State but they have now realised the people are the ones to decide,” he added.

But speaking in Bungoma, Uhuru said he had gone through a lot of difficulties in his tenure with his deputy.

 He said Ruto had made his work difficult until former Prime Minister Raila Odinga came to his rescue.

 Speaking at Nzoia Sugar Company when he presented a cheque of Sh500 million to pay farmers and workers, the President said Ruto had been uncooperative to him.

 “He pushed me too much until I was sweating but Raila came to my rescue,” Uhuru said.  “You have seen by yourselves that I picked a deputy who could not work with me. His work was to push me in a corner,” Uhuru added. 

The Head of State dismissed claims that Raila was too old to lead the country, saying better an aged person, who was not interested in looting. He said age was not a factor, arguing that the ODM chief was better placed to transform the country.

 He said Raila was not money hungry like other presidential contestants and asked Kenyans to elect him.

Reporting by Seth Mwaniki, Wangari Njuguna and Yusuf Masibo