•He said closure has affected thousands of families that depend on it directly and indirectly.
•KRA on Tuesday closed Keroche factories yet again over alleged tax arrears.
Deputy President William Ruto on Wednesday hit out at the Kenya Revenue Authority for closing down Keroche Industries, terming the move the worst insult to Kenyan businesses.
Speaking in Kisii during his presidential campaign, Ruto said the government had mounted a clampdown on industries whose owners are supporting his State House bid.
“Keroche is a big industrialist, she employs many Kenyans and gives businesses to so many people,” Ruto said.
“To say that Keroche has been closed because of the political persuasion of 'Mama Keroche' is the worst insult and the worst form of impunity.”
The DP said Keroche's closure has affected thousands of families that depend on it directly and indirectly.
“Your days are numbered. If you want to destroy people's businesses, you can't tell us about business and the economy,” the DP said.
KRA on Tuesday closed Keroche yet again over alleged tax arrears.
This is the sixth time in a year KRA has closed down the Naivasha-based brewer, leaving it to incur losses running to millions of shillings.
This time, the company is accusing KRA of being used to fight it politically and issuing agency notices to all its lenders.
Ruto accused Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga of inability to get his facts right on what ails the country.
“I have heard him claiming that the country's problems are ignorance,” Ruto said.
“The country's problems are unemployment and economy and not the same challenges that Kenya faced at independence.”
He asked the region to ignore Raila and vote for him because of his solid plan for the country to help hustlers.
“Reject him because he has no track record, he has no vision for this country. In this election we should end impunity and arrogance,” Ruto said.
Wooing the region, Ruto cited his many trips to the region to help small-scale businesses and the informal sector through harambees as a testimony of his determination to change the lives of Kenyans.
“I have been here countless times. Has he helped in anything except complaining about my donations?” Ruto posed.
“This time around it is not going to be the Sh2 million I have been donating; we are going to set aside Sh50 billion to grow these small businesses.”
The DP asked the Gusii community to make wise decisions and elect the Kenya Kwanza government because of his performance track record.
“My competitor was a Prime Minister, what is his track record in Kisii?Has he donated in harambees? Has he raised money for women and youths? Has he even donated to the church?” Ruto posed.
The DP toured Bonchari, Bobasi and Bomachoge constituencies as he stepped up his vote-hunting mission for a slice of the region's votes.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris