- Ruton condemned Linturi but asked that state agencies apply the law equally.
- The DP also warned his allies to mind their language.
Image: DPPS
Deputy President William Ruto on Monday asked state security agencies to impartially deal with all hate-mongers across the political divide.
“For the avoidance of doubt the agencies charged with security and ensuring we have a peaceful election must apply the law in a manner that does not create two sets of laws for two sets of groups,” Ruto said at the Bomet Green Stadium.
He went on: “We want every inciter in Kenya, whether they belong to UDA or the other side, we want the law to apply equally so that we can secure our nation.”
This even as the DP condemned Saturday’s remarks by besieged Meru Senator Mithika Linturi saying the lawmaker's language was inappropriate.
Speaking in Bomet on Monday, Ruto fired a warning at his troops in the hustler nation movement telling them to be mindful of their language to avoid making inflammatory statements.
“Going forward, I want to tell members of my team, the hustler nation, that all of us must mind our language, all of must be careful about what they say so that we can unite this country because that is what the hustler nation believes in,” he said.
Some of the DP’s allies have come under a barrage of attacks for making public statements likely to destabilise the country’s tribal cohesion as the country gears up to the August 9, general election.
Linturi had on Saturday during the DPs rally in Eldoret asked the locals to reject people opposed to the DP’s candidature using the emotive ‘madoadoa’ word that was the cord language for the perpetrators of the 2007 post-election violence.
While condemning Linturi for his inappropriate use of language, Ruto also hailed the Meru senator for apologising adding that UDA will be at the forefront in preaching peace.
“Let me say that for those who are talking about Senator Linturi, he made a statement which he regrets; a statement that had inappropriate language, and senator Linturi has apologised, he has withdrawn the statement and he has unconditionally apologised to the people of Kenya,” Ruto said.
He went on: “We are a democratic party that believes in the freedom of everybody to choose what side they want to be, who they want to vote for, what party they want. We are democrats and we want to compete on a platform of issues, not ethnicity, on an agenda and not profiling any particular sector of our society.”
The DP said UDA believes in the unity of the nation and does not subscribe to ethnic or regional, or village politics.
“We want to say from Bomet here, that we do not subscribe to any divisive talk, we do not agree with any talk that profiles, individuals or groups or communities because we are a national party that brings all the communities of Kenya together.”
Edited by D Tarus