Govt withdrew NPR from bandit-prone areas to punish my supporters: Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto yesterday claimed that the government is punishing his supporters in the North Rift because of their political stand.

The DP claimed that the insecurity in Kerio Valley was sparked by government’s move to withdraw police reservists in the area, leaving the locals unprotected.

“The withdrawal of the reservists was a political agenda meant to punish Ruto. We had over 5,000 police reservists who were relieved of their duties leaving the communities exposed.

“There was a false narrative after the ‘Handshake’ and the government said police reservists in the area were Ruto’s militia and they were withdrawn and the situation went south,” Dr Ruto said.

 He said Elgeyo Marakwet and Kerio Valley, which are prone to bandit attacks, were the worst affected.

“I have deployed my personal resources to deal with that situation because I know it was a political agenda.  The withdrawal of the National Police Reserve (NPR) was really an unfortunate act intended to punish William Ruto,” the DP said.

The Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate noted that the disarmament of the reservists has contributed to the insecurity in the region.

“We had close to 5,000 police reservists, we had even moved forward to provide armoured vehicles to make sure we can follow the criminals. We had a plan but it was frustrating,” he explained.

At the same time, Dr Ruto also linked the stalling of the multi-billion shilling Arror and Kimwarer dam projects to politics, indicating that it was a deliberate move to injure his people.

He said that the government paralysed the operation to disadvantage his supporters.

“The Kimwarer and Arror dams were cancelled intentionally to punish my supporters,” he said.

He pointed out that the government stands to lose about Sh20 billion in the stalled dam projects.

“Already the contractor is in court demanding Sh12 billion and the government has already responded to the case but is embarrassed to make it public,” he said, adding that Kenyans will be shocked by the revelations of some issue of the two dams.

“Why is it that the matter has been in court for four years but has not moved an inch? It’s just dancing? Mention after mention, story after story?” he posed, adding that the Kenya Kwanza administration will continue with the two projects.