Ruto is the most vocal state critic - Tifa poll

The majority of Kenyans consider Deputy President William Ruto as the de facto Leader of Official opposition despite being the country’s second in command.

The latest poll by Tifa released on Wednesday shows that 36 per cent of Kenyans regard Ruto as the government’s most vocal critic against ODM boss Raila who rates at 24 per cent.

Some 18 per cent of Kenyans do not know who is the country’s official opposition leader.

Raila, the former prime minister, is the de jure opposition leader in the country, but his handshake with President Uhuru Kenya has given him a larger-than-life influence in government.

Raila is now considered the President’s key ally and political adviser with Ruto having shoved away from the centre of state power.

His initial criticism of the government has subsided with Ruto seemingly taking up the role.

The poll done between November 7 and 13, however, shows that 40 per cent of Kenyans identify ODM as the current opposition party.

Ruto’s UDA which has been railing at the government has 14 per cent, while 17 per cent of Kenyans do not know which party is the country’s opposition outfit.

The poll involved a sample size of 1,519 respondents spread across nine zones of Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift and Western.

Data collection was done through telephone interviews conducted with respondents whose contacts were collected through face-to-face interviews.

The interviews were conducted in Kiswahili (mainly) and English.

Funded by Tifa, the poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.51  per cent.

Edited by CM