A defiant and bullish Deputy President William Ruto yesterday took on his boss Uhuru Kenyattta head-on, vowing to neither resign nor abandon his 2022 quest for State House.
Speaking during the burial of Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya’s mother in Kazandani and at Mahoo Ward Representative Ronald Sagurani’s funeral in Taveta, Dr Ruto asked Mr Kenyatta and allies to stop what he termed as “contempt”.
“We have built 10,000 km of roads and connected electricity and even built the railway. So why would you tell me that I cannot help the minority and mama mboga? You should stop being contemptuous and being rude. Kenya belongs to all of us,” he said in Kwale.
“People should stop joking. I helped Raila to be Prime Minister, I helped President Uhuru Kenyatta to be President, and now that I have declared that I want to be a leader and help ‘mama mboga’, why are people so angry with me? Where is the mistake?” the DP asked.
His remarks came hours after Mr Kenyatta, in an interview with editors at State House, Nairobi, dared his deputy to quit the Jubilee government if he is dissatisfied with it.
“If you are not happy, step aside and allow those who want to move on to do so, then take your agenda to the people. That is what happens in a democracy. You cannot ride on what we have done and talk a different language on the side,” Mr Kenyatta said.
Dr Ruto, an outsider in his own government, has increasingly become aggressive in his tackles as he pushes back State siege after years of playing safe as he focuses on succeeding his boss.
Dr Ruto said despite the humiliation he has been facing at the hands of State machinery and Mr Kenyatta’s allies, he would not retreat since he is a “man on a mission” to save the ordinary citizen.
"I don't have the luxury to surrender because I'm a man on a mission to ensure that the jobless, those who are running small businesses and farmers who are struggling become part of this nation," he said.
He lauded the Judiciary for throwing out the proposed constitutional amendment through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), saying the Bill was not in the interest of Kenyans.
I am ready to quit Jubilee Party - DP Ruto
“If there was a dangerous constitutional amendment, it was the BBI,” he said, adding that the initiative was meant to create positions for politicians.
Dr Ruto called on Coast leaders to join him in building the United Democratic Alliance (UDA). Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has declined to join the party despite being called upon to by Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa.
“I want to tell Kingi that I am not a member of UDA; I am the Jubilee deputy party leader but I am building UDA with other like-minded MPs to unite the country,” he said.
In Taita, Dr Ruto apologised to the family of the deceased MCA onald Sagurani after police disrupted the burial ceremony preparations at Kemri grounds.
"What happened this morning is shameful. I apologise on behalf of the government but one day all these humiliations will end," he said.
Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa said the police were using Covid-19 protocols to embarrass the DP, who was accompanied by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa, Taita Taveta Woman Representative Lydia Haika and Ms Jumwa.
"Last week we saw a burial in Western region where hundreds of people attended and no one was sent away. They disrupted the burial because the DP was coming," she said.
Hundreds of mourners, including some MCAs, were locked out of the burial ceremony as police moved in to contain the growing number of residents coming to pay their last respects to the leader.
