William Ruto laughs off Raila Odinga endorsement by Mt Kenya tycoons

Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday dismissed the endorsement of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid by Mt Kenya tycoons as “futile”.

“It is futile to cut political deals in hotels. Those deals are not representative of the interests of Kenyans,” Dr Ruto said while campaigning in Makueni County, referring to the Wednesday move by the Mount Kenya Foundation, a club of wealthy and influential individuals from the region.

Dr Ruto addressed seven roadside rallies in Makueni and Mbooni constituencies in which he made a case for his presidential bid, promoted the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), his nascent party, and his “bottom-up” economic model.

In Wote town, Dr Ruto gave a wide berth to the stalled Wote Stadium, whose construction he commissioned in the run-up to the 2017 General Election before it ran into funding and technical headwinds.

Instead, he cited the Standard Gauge Railway, fitting hospitals with modern equipment, building technical training colleges, tarmacking roads across the country and connecting many rural communities to electricity as evidence of the Jubilee administration’s resolve to develop the country.

Vowing to return the country to the path of economic recovery if he becomes the fifth president, Dr Ruto decried the turbulence that rocked the Big Four Agenda, the accelerated plan on affordable housing, agriculture, manufacturing and universal healthcare, saying it had cost the country dearly.

He blamed the March 2018 truce between Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta for stalling the projects and promised to revamp them if he becomes president.

Ruto's major headache

“Our first priority next year will be investing Sh100 billion in agro-processing, value addition, manufacturing and housing so that we can create jobs, because it was our priority under the Big Four plan,” he said in Kathonzweni township.

The rallies were part of Dr Ruto’s intensified efforts to make inroads in the region that is widely seen as the political bedrock of Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka. The DP made it obvious through his utterances that Mr Odinga’s presidential bid is his major headache.

In the 2013 and 2017 elections, Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties voted overwhelmingly for Mr Odinga, whose running mate was Mr Musyoka. Whereas Mr Musyoka is crossing his fingers that he will fly the One Kenya Alliance (OKA) presidential ticket in the 2022 contest, Mr Odinga is set to declare his bid at his Azimio la Umoja forum at Kasarani in Nairobi today.

“You should join us in forming the next government since we have another opportunity. That is why I have come for you early enough before you make the mistake you have been making – wasting your vote by voting for the riddles man,” DP Ruto said in Wote.

He challenged Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka and Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, his other possible challengers who have also held plum positions in government, to campaign on the platform of their development scorecards.

Two allies of Mr Musyoka addressed the rallies and endorsed Dr Ruto’s presidential bid. They are 2017 Makueni Woman Representative candidate Wavinya Nzioka and Kathonzweni MCA Francis Mutungi.