The President spoke in Eldoret in his Uasin Gishu backyard on Sunday, amid mounting pressure to bring on board Wiper Democratic Movement Leader Kalonzo Musyoka , two days after he and Mr Odinga unveiled their working agreement.
President Ruto said the ten-point working pact was not for purposes of power-sharing in government or ‘planning politics,’ but to work together to develop Kenya.
“I greatly thank all the leaders who agreed for us to unite and I have said it and I will repeat, we are uniting the nation of Kenya not to share positions of power or plan politics but to plan and work together on transforming this nation, that is the reason of our coming together in this unity is important,” he stated.
MPs Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga) and Oscar Sudi (Kapseret) who joined the President at the African Inland Church Fellowship Annex in Eldoret for anniversary celebrations and a thanksgiving ceremony on Sunday hinted at an effort to bring Mr Musyoka on board.
“This Wiper guy, let us not leave him behind…let us bring Kalonzo on board…let us bring everybody on board,” Mr Atandi said, lauding the new unity pact.
Mr Sudi added: “Going back to unite Kenyans was a step forward. Even Kalonzo let us bring him on board,” he said. “Once someone is elected, you become a national leader and not for specific sections of the nation,” he said.
On Sunday, however, Mr Musyoka went on his X account and penned a message that implied his disapproval of the new working agreement between Mr Odinga and President Ruto terming it as a betrayal to Kenyans.
“I have been reflecting on Psalm 11 - when the foundations are shaken, what will the righteous do? Kenyans, our foundation has been shaken. 6 million Kenyan university students are unable to get employment because of the policies of the KK regime. Our children are unable to go to class because our foundation has been shaken. Kenyans don't have health coverage because the foundation has been shaken. That is the True State of our Nation,” wrote the Wiper leader.
“There is BETRAYAL everywhere. BETRAYAL by politicians against Kenyans. Politicians should never again appear before their people and show off what they have stolen in the shape of "donations. The People's Loyal Coalition will never betray the people of Kenya for temporary comfort,” he wrote.
At the African Inland Church Fellowship Annex in Eldoret, the President said the deal with Mr Odinga is meant to transform the nation of Kenya, which he termed as important for the country’s progress as it can only be done in unity.
“It is the reason we decided to unite our nation so that we develop faster. To enhance the momentum of the development of our country, we must harness the unity of our nation, the talents, energies, and political goodwill available, us to increase the momentum of our country’s development,” he said a day after the historic pact signed at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
“Competition is good because it gives us winners and losers. Unity is better because it creates a win-win formula for everybody. It creates winners without losses. Nobody loses in unity, everybody wins, because unity is a strength because in unity there are no losers…in unity, we have only winners and that is why we decided to come together,” he said.
The President noted that personal interests are counterproductive and derail a nation’s development, appealing to Kenyans to support the new unity effort.
“I want to encourage us a nation to think about what is in it for the people of Kenya and not for political interests…not to think about the interests of a political party or a region, but the interests of the collective population, that is what is important and that is what our focus is Let us unite and work together and let us focus on the interests of our country,” he appealed.
Quoting Mathew 5:9 which says Blessed are the peacemakers as they will be called the children of God, the President said the focus for him and Mr Odinga towards unity was meant for the peace and unity of the nation of Kenya.
“If every leader is focusing on their interests, who focuses on the interests of the people and the nation? That is important for us to think about. Therefore, I am asking us all to come together, and I want to assure all Kenyans that nobody, no region, no community, no section of Kenya will be left behind, we shall all walk together,” he said.
The Head of State said Kenya has made great strides under his leadership, citing what he termed as commendable growth economically and great improvements agriculturally.
“I am a witness of God’s faithfulness in Kenya. We are not where we were before. We have come from a place with a lot of challenges…food prices were high, but God has done it for us as the nation of Kenya, and therefore we must learn as a nation to be grateful to God for what He has done for us,” he said.
“God has healed our economy. We had a high inflation and exchange rate, and many other challenges, but today things are different, the economy has stabilized and Kenya is making strides ahead. We are grateful to God for what He has done for us... I have faith that God’s grace is enough to change our nation of Kenya to get us to a place where we are all proud to be citizens.” he said.
“We are almost halfway into our term, and I want to say on this Sunday, in the mid of our term, that we thank God for His providence, our agriculture is doing well, our economy is doing better, we have rolled out all our programmes and Kenya is going to change,” he said.
The President was accompanied by a host of political leaders among them governors Jonathan Bii (Uasin Gishu) and Ken Lusaka (Bungoma). Also present were Senator Jackson Mandago and MPs Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), Elijah Kururia Njoroge (Gatundu North), Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga) Julius Rutto (Kesses) and Joseph Wainaina (Nominated), among others.
Senator Mandago said the President was doing what is expected of every national leader by uniting Kenya.
Mr Atandi hailed President Ruto for entering into a pact with his party boss, saying that it would foster social and economic prosperity in the country.
“You are guiding this country towards a better direction through your broad-based government pact with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and I urge you to bring wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on board,” said Mr Atandi.
Other politicians present assured President Ruto of their support towards his pact with the ODM leader, terming it a positive move in the right direction, aimed at uniting all Kenyans.
Mr Sudi, who donated Sh2 million to the church, said uniting all Kenyans through a broad-based government will foster unity in the country.
“We support the broad-based pact. If we don’t unite as Kenyans, divisions and tribalism will kill the development of our country. Kenya belongs to all of us,” said Mr Sudi.
The leaders hailed the Social Health Authority, terming it a success and urging Kenyans to bear with teething problems terming them as short-term challenges.
