• Echesa dismissed as propaganda by his detractors, a post on social media quoting him as saying he had been betrayed by the DP.
• He says DP is more like a brother to him than just a friend.
Former Sports and Heritage CS Rashid Echesa has denied that he has been isolated by Deputy President William Ruto and other senior government officials since his sacking.
He dismissed as propaganda by his detractors, a post on social media quoting him as saying he had been betrayed by the DP and other state officials he served under after his sacking.
The post quoted Echesa as saying, “Since I was fired, no government official has been picking my calls. William Ruto, the man who made me insult Raila Odinga and create more enemies than friends, went ahead to block my calls and messages. I’ve been betrayed”
But on Monday, Echesa said that his relationship with the DP was intact. He said that he met the DP at his Karen residence in Nairobi on Friday where they held fruitful talks.
He accompanied the DP on his visit to the One Acre Fund headquarters in Kakamega to launch a dairy programme on Saturday.
“The DP is more like a brother to me than just a friend. Those engaged in propaganda are desperate to cause divisions between the DP and the friends he has made ahead of 2022 but they will fail terribly,” he told the Star on the phone.
“There is even another one trending saying that I knelt before Raila and apologised to him. This is utter nonsense. Am I mud to go begging Raila when I know what he has done to our community for years?” he said.
“I have, time and again said that I did nothing wrong to be fired but I accepted the President’s decision because it’s his prerogative to hire and fire. This does not mean enmity,” he said.
Echesa declared immediately after his sacking on March 1, that he will continue supporting the DP’s 2022 bid.
He said that attempts by politicians from across the political divide to stop DP Ruto from ascending to power indicate that he is a real threat.