- Deputy President William Ruto feels that his nemesis is taking advantage of the handshake to undermine him as the principal assistant to the president.
- He has also differed sharply with the ODM leader over the latter’s proposal for an expanded Executive in the second phase of BBI.
Image: /FILE
The wedge between ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto is growing wider, with each taking hard stances on their polity ahead of the 2022 vote.
There is no love lost between the two and their differences have grown from bad to worse. Raila has said he wouldn’t work with the DP.
“My values are very clear. So before I get into any kind of relationship with him [Ruto], I will question myself,” the AU Infrastructure envoy said.
His latest assertions may diminish the hopes of those who thought the two would have a political ceasefire and work together in the next election.
Raila’s sour relationship with Ruto dates way back to when the DP – then Agriculture minister, was suspended over the 2010 maize scandal.
They were on different sides during the 2010 Constitution review, where Ruto worked with President Uhuru Kenyatta as key players in the 'No camp'.
They would later face off in the 2013 general election and in 2017 when Ruto led an onslaught against Raila’s NASA coalition.
Their animosity would grow after Raila joined hands with Uhuru to birth the now famed BBI – which has escalated their differences.
It is a relationship that has seen the two face-off, leaving Kenyans wondering not only who would blink first but also who among them is giving the correct accounts of the events.
Raila, while asserting that he has no personal grudges with the DP, called out Ruto for “lying about the pre-handshake intrigues.”
Whereas the DP says the ODM leader reached out to him, Raila swore that no such a call happened ‘as Ruto was not the candidate’.
The AU envoy for Infrastructure, in an interview with NTV, said the talks with President Kenyatta followed interventions by good Samaritans.
“After they reached out to me, we talked with Uhuru, just the two of us. Ruto was not part of the negotiations at all. I was surprised that he said I talked to him. It is very unethical.”
“Why would I call Ruto, yet I never called Uhuru. I can swear that I never talked to Ruto,” Raila said, comments which may leave a lot to desire on the DP’s statement.
When interviewed by the same station on Thursday, the DP said he discussed the handshake – hailing it as a wonderful idea, with Uhuru before the March 2018 events.
“Before the handshake came to be. Uhuru discussed with me, and we agreed to bring the political temperatures down…even before Raila reached out to Uhuru, he reached out to me. Every time he reached out to me, I consulted Uhuru,” the DP said.
Raila, in the conversation, added that his other discomfort comes from the DP’s insistence on conducting fundraisers – commonly known as harambees.
The ODM leader said this was against a select committee of the National Assembly that banned fundraisers, terming them a source of corruption.
Raila even took issue with the DP presenting monies at the events and purporting that some of the contributions are from President Kenyatta.
“I know for a fact the president doesn’t produce a penny for harambee. In fact, the President gets very embarrassed by such reports.”
The AU envoy holds that by doing so, Ruto is “corrupting the political process in an attempt to paint him as a god-fearing and generous politician.”
“However, if you do a lifestyle audit, you’d find the sources are questionable…that is the only issue I have with him, nothing personal,” Raila said.
On whether he’d work with the DP should the latter win the presidency, he said, “Why not? If the people of Kenya elect him as President, who am I to say no?”
“We have a cordial relationship. We greet each other. I don’t hate him as a person but just that there are certain things he does which are contrary to my belief.”
For his part, Ruto feels that his nemesis is taking advantage of the handshake to undermine him as the principal assistant to the president.
He has also differed sharply with the ODM leader over the latter’s proposal for an expanded Executive in the second phase of BBI.
But the ODM boss asked Ruto to hold his cool as he (Raila) is not in government. “I am not in Jubilee. I don’t make decisions. The President is competent in making decisions.”