Jubilee Party is ready for dialogue but not on anything to do with Kenya's rulers.
Deputy president William Ruto said this on Saturday noting he and president Uhuru Kenyatta were duly elected by the people.
Uhuru's key rival Raila Odinga of NASA insists the August 8, 2017 election was a sham. His petition resulted in a re-run
on October 26
but he did not participate, claiming a predetermined outcome.
Opposition leaders want talks so there was hope for a few seconds when Ruto said: "We are ready for dialogue."
But he caused laughter during Yvonne Wamalwa's funeral service, at her
Milimani home in Kitale, Trans Nzoia county, when he said the kind of dialogue they are ready for is strictly on improving lives.
"Tuko tayari kuongea vile mamilioni ya vijana wa kenya watapata kazi, vile tutazalisha chakula ya kutoasha tuondoe aibu ya njaa ... vile tutakuwa na bima ya kulipa bills za hospitali
(We are ready to talk about how millions of Kenyan youth will get jobs, how to produce enough food to end the shame of hunger and how to ensure hospital bills are paid through NHIF) ... that is the discussion we want to have," he said amid cheers.
"Lakini kama mnataka tuongee ati nani atakuwa rais ... sijui nani atakuwa makamu wa rais
(But if you want us to talk about who will be the president of DP) ... we are not qualified ... only the people of Kenya can decide that. And when they decide, it is a matter of 'God's case, no appeal' as Chinua Achebe said."
The opposition has been leading a resistance since the August 8 presidential election that the IEBC declared Uhuru won.
They have called for a boycott of products and services by companies including Brookside Dairies, Haco Industries and Safaricom. They have also demanded that the IEBC give full access to its servers so the results of the election can be out in the open.
More on resistance:
Deputy president William Ruto with senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka and NASA principal Moses Wetang'ula during Yvonne Wamalwa's funeral service in Kitale, Trans Nzoia county, February 3, 2018. /Charles Kimani
The DP said it is "pure madness" for the opposition to keep making "baseless" demands.
He said its leaders should have heeded his warning as Jubilee Party stepped up so there was no way they could have been defeated.
While laughing, he said: "Sasa mambo yamekwisha, mnataka kutuletea kisirani ... si tungoje 2022 (The elections season is over yet you want to cause problems. Why not wait for 2022)?"
He said there will be no other election in Kenya before that year and told the opposition that "mkikaakaa vile mnakaakaa, mambo yataharibika tena ... haya mambo mengine ya catwalk ni kelele tu (If you continue sitting around like you are doing, things will go wrong for you again ... all these other issues of catwalks only amount to noise)".
Related:
NASA principal Moses Wetang'ula, who is Bungoma senator and Ford Kenya leader, attended the service.
Ruto said:
"Wetangula is my friend and I warned them before the general election but he did not heed to my advice. Their brigade took a lot of time before deciding who their leader would be," he said.
"They wasted time in retreats and seminars and forgot Jubilee leaders had already made up their minds. They realised the election was around the corner ... Time caught up with them."
The DP noted it is high time Nasa leaders behaved like gentlemen and accepted the people's decision following the re-run.
The others are Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi of Amani National Congress.
Ruto said Raila and his team should be reminded that Kenya belongs to all its citizens so they should respectfully accept Uhuru's leadership.
"We must refuse and resist any intolerance. Politics of ethnicity and division have caused us more problems. Let us unite as a people, adhere to the rule of law and submit to the dictates of the constitution," he added.
"No
one is above the law in Kenya. Irrespective of who we are we must submit to the dictates of the constitution."