'I'm now a bad man for supporting hustlers': Ruto hits out at Raila, Uhuru

Deputy President William Ruto has urged Kenyans to stop ethnic-based groupings and embrace political parties with a national outlook.

He said Kenyans should elect leaders with admirable development track records and who have the country's best interest at heart.

The Deputy President claimed it is only the United Democratic Alliance among the current crop of political parties that has a national outlook.

"Do not allow to be misled to support political parties with tribal groupings and which have no development agenda for the country,"  Ruto said.

Ruto said it's time leaders discouraged politics of conmanship.

The Deputy President said when he supported former Prime minister Raila Odinga in 2007 and President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2002, 2013 and 2017, he was a good man.

Ruto said he was now surprised that the same people who used to praise him when he supported them have ganged up against him.

"When I supported Raila to become Prime minister and later my friend Uhuru to become President, I was a good man. But now that I want to help hustlers, I have suddenly turned out to be a bad man," Ruto said.

He made the remarks during an empowerment programme for residents of Wundanyi, Mwatate and Voi in Taita Taveta county on Thursday.

He later engaged with small-scale traders in Matuga, Kwale County.Present were MPs Lydia Haika (Taita Taveta), Benjamin Tayari (Kinango), Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga), Kwale County Deputy Governor Fatuma Achani and former Governor John Mruttu.

Mruttu said the economic model being proposed by UDA would transform the lives of ordinary citizens.

"I am associating myself with this party because it's committed to addressing challenges facing ordinary Kenyans," he said.

Haika said it's only UDA that has won the hearts of the majority of Kenyans because of its agenda and development track records among its leaders.

She urged the Ministry of Education to compel teachers not to send home students because of lack of school fees, saying the country was witnessing hard economic times.