Deputy President William Ruto has, once again, implored Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to end his “abusive” relationship with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga and back the DP’s presidential bid.
Determined to flip the 1.6 million-strong voting bloc which overwhelmingly voted for Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka in 2013 and 2017, the DP tapped into the former vice President’s apparent distrust of Mr Odinga.
He portrayed the ODM leader as dishonest and unfit to lead. Mr Musyoka, Dr Ruto said, had suffered at the hands of Mr Odinga.
“He (Odinga) will no longer torment you. I will deal with him once and for all. He has duped Kalonzo on several occasions; once on the deal to support his presidential bid and recently when he forced him to sign a deal even before [Mr Musyoka had] interrogated its details,” Dr Ruto said Wednesday in Kikambuani, Machakos County.
He addressed various rallies in Kitui and Machakos counties, a day after he made a case of his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in a series of rallies in Kitui and Makueni counties.
Dr Ruto’s ramped up his campaigns in Mr Musyoka’s political backyard barely a fortnight after the Wiper leader dropped his presidential bid and instead rallied behind Mr Odinga . He has since been grumbling about various elements of the Azimio la Umoja campaign.
Analysts who have noted Mr Musyoka’s lacklustre attitude towards Mr Odinga’s campaign say he risks playing into Dr Ruto’s hands. Dr Ruto took credit for the projects done by the Jubilee administration in the region over the past nine years.
He cited rural electrification, tarmacking of key roads, equipping hospitals, construction of technical training institutes, the upcoming Konza City, and the ongoing construction of Thwake Dam that he said is meant to make the region food secure. He claimed Mr Odinga had not influenced development in the region.
Dr Ruto pledged to create a Sh50 billion annual fund accessible at the ward level to promote small-scale enterprise and another Sh100 billion fund to address unemployment by promoting agriculture, industrialisation, housing and universal health coverage if elected President.
“[Mr Odinga] should not take us for fools. The clamour to change the constitution to expand the executive should wait until we revamp the economy to create jobs for the jobless”.
Dr Ruto was accompanied by United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairman Johnson Muthama, who is gunning for the Machakos governorship on a UDA ticket, and a handful of aspirants for various seats in the region.
Exuding confidence of winning in the August 9 General Election, Dr Ruto endorsed Mr Muthama and rallied Machakos County behind his bid.
He said the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which he leads, will emerge victorious in the polls.
Other leaders who accompanied him were Senator Kithure Kindiki, MPs Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town), Vincent Musyoka (Mwala), Nimrod Mbai (Kitui East).
Mr Muthama claimed that his former ally, Mr Musyoka, had auctioned the community for his own personal gain and joined the Azimio coalition without consulting them.
