Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has said he is better placed to lead the country compared to Deputy President William Ruto.
Mutua said he has what it takes to floor Ruto in 2022 and win the presidency.
“I will be on the ballot and that means I will also win. I don't do things blindly," he said.
The governor, who is serving his second and final term, said his presidential bid was driven by the desire to offer transformative leadership.
Mutua spoke during an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday. He said he is ready to face all presidential candidates who will run in 2022.
Mutua said he does not support plans to impeach Ruto and termed them diversionary. He said the move would destabilise the country's political system. Mutua said the plot by Siaya Senator James Orengo lacks merit.
The Maendeleo Chap Chap party leader said money does not guarantee one an election win and he is not perturbed by the DP's war chest.
"If money was everything, all rich people would be leaders. I have a strategy which will ensure my victory," Mutua said.
He did not rule out the possibility of working with Ruto, saying in politics anything is possible. "But Ruto has been the DP and he can continue deputising me," Mutua said.
The governor said he will run for office on an anti-corruption platform. His priority once elected would be to roll back poverty by creating employment and boosting economic growth.
Mutua said he has first-hand experience of poverty as he grew up at Makina, Kibera slum, before moving to Riruta Satellite.
"I did construction jobs to put food on the table and were it not for church missionaries, I would have ended my academic life in Form 2, " he said.
It is this background and [being a] youth that makes me the most suitable presidential candidate in 2022, he said.
Mutua said the biggest problem facing Kenya is runaway corruption and praised President Uhuru Kenyatta for tackling the vice. But more is needed to slay the graft dragon, he said.
"For the corruption war to gain traction, big fish should be arrested and indicted on graft charges and lifestyle audits taken more seriously," Mutua said.
