ODM distances itself from violence in DP Ruto’s rallies, says UDA has sensed defeat
Orange Democratic Movement party has come out to refute claims made by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that its party leader Raila Odinga has been sponsoring the chaos that has been witnessed at Deputy President William Ruto's gatherings.
In a press release issued by the party's Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, ODM said that the accusation made by the Ruto-allied party was false. According to ODM, UDA made the sentiment to diverge the country's attention from some of the bad things that its members have been involved in recently.
This comes a day after DP Ruto claimed that the former Prime Minister is known for hiring goons to disrupt his opponent's rallies and must have been behind the violence witnessed at his Sunday afternoon rally.
"Shame on you bwana kitendawili for hiring youths to come and stone people here," Ruto said.
"You planned violence in Kondele, you have come here again in Embakasi to mobilize youths to stone us," he added.
Responding to the claims, the opposition party claimed that Ruto and his brigade are trying to paint them as a violent group just to diverge the country's attention for some of the hate speech utterances its members made during Ruto's rally in Eldoret.
"Because the focus has shone on them for their reckless talk and conduct, UDA and its warmonger leader have been desperate for ways to deflect attention from the madoadoa grave they dug themselves into," the statement read in part.
"They have been craving any remote chance to besmirch the names of President Uhuru, Rt Hon Odinga and CS Matiangi, in a desperate attempt to draw false parallels and hand us the violent skunk they are breeding. We want the violence network in UDA to know that ODM will not carry your madoadoa burden," the statement added.
ODM suggested that the violence meted at Ruto and his allies might have been their own causing.
According to Sifuna, the rowdy youths who have been causing violence at Ruto's gatherings might have been hoodwinked by the DP's men to attend the rallies with a promise to get paid only for the promise to turn out to be an empty promise. This he said, might have angered the youths hence forcing them to cause violence at the rallies.
"The whole country is aware that the Deputy President's philosophy of handouts and payment to youths to attend his rallies has boomeranged on him many times when aggrieved youths demand their share of the loot and disrupt his rallies. It happened in Kondele, Kieni and there is every reason to believe that is exactly what happened at Jacaranda too," Sifuna said in the statement.
"As we have stated before, the DP is his own worst enemy and must look in the mirror whenever he wants an explanation as to why his political fortunes continue to dwindle," he added.
Sifuna said that ODM through its party leader Raila are only committed to creating a united country and will not get involved in Ruto's alleged divisive politics.
Sifuna further alleged that Ruto and his men are trying to tarnish Raila's name because they have sensed defeat in the upcoming general elections.
"ODM declines the invitation to be blamed for seeds of discord sown by the corruption lords who have panicked at the prospect of a Raila presidency, which many more Kenyans of goodwill, having realised what the UDA brigade is really about, have embraced," Sifuna said.
He also invited the police to investigate the violence that has been witnessed in the said rallies so that Kenyans can know the truth about who is behind the chaos.
