Deputy President William Ruto has described President Uhuru Kenyatta as a joker for telling Kenyans to support opposition leader Raila Odinga.
He said there are many others he would have chosen to support instead of the Azimio presidential candidate.
Ruto said the President has let down Kenyans who supported him and voted for him in the 2013 and 2017 general elections by telling them to vote for Raila.
Raila opposed former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki’s administrations and has now thrown Uhuru into a state of confusion such that he has forgotten all about those who voted for him, he said.
The DP urged residents to come out in large numbers and help him send Raila home, saying the ODM leader has no agenda for the country and that is why he avoided last week's presidential debate.
“Will you help me to take him home? Are you going to turnout in large numbers next week? Wake up at 3am so we can take him home,” Ruto said.
“We are telling Uhuru Kenyatta that we have no problem with him but we shall not allow Raila to be president because he has no agenda for this country.”
Such a person, he said, cannot be trusted to revive the economy or spearhead development.
The DP said even their competitors have realised they are winning and that Uhuru has agreed he will hand over power to whoever wins.
“The President even said the loser will go home with him. So I urge you not to swear yourself in,” Ruto told Raila.
Ruto spoke in Naromoru, Nyeri county, on Tuesday when he led his Kenya Kwanza brigade to ringfence the county.
His running mate Rigathi Gachagua comes from the county.
The DP made stopovers in Nyeri and Karatina towns.
Ruto said he and Uhuru had good plans for Kenyans, including the Big Four agenda, before being ruined by Raila after the handshake.
During his tour of the President's backyard, Ruto appeared to tone down the attacks against Uhuru.
Ruto told residents he has never disrespected the President, contrary to what Kenyans have been made to believe.
He said unlike their opponents in the Azimio la Umoja camp who until recently have been throwing insults at him, they are only irked by his move to support Raila.
“Mimi nataka nimwambie rafiki yangu rais, sisi ni watu yako, hauna wengine, na hakuna mtu kati yetu amekutukana, wenye walikutukana ni akina Joho, Babu Owino na Junet Mohamed…wao sasa ndiyo wanajifanya ni marafiki zako,” Ruto said.
This loosely translates to "I want to tell my friend the President that we are his people. None of us has insulted you. Those who insulted you include Joho, Babu Owino and Junet Mohamed. They are now pretending to be your friend."
President Kenyatta has often accused Ruto's team of insulting him at their rallies.
Gachagua said Ruto will make a good president as he understands the problems of Kenyans better, having come from a humble background.
He urged chiefs not to be misused during the election.
Gachagua promised the administrators that Kenya Kwanza will take care of their welfare, including making their working environment better.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro blamed the government for the circulation of leaflets in the Rift Valley region, which he said is one of the only two strategies remaining for Azimio.
The other, he said, was releasing fake opinion polls.
“Even if they release fake opinion polls, we will have the genuine opinion poll on August 9 and take Raila to Bondo,” Nyoro said.
Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru said Uhuru "in his right sense", could not have been telling people to back Raila.
Ruto was also accompanied by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Nyeri Woman Representative Rahab Mukami and Governor Mutahi Kahiga.
Edited by A.N
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