Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday weathered chaos and stone-pelting youths to storm the historic Jacaranda Grounds for a presidential campaign rally as a bid to block him flopped.
There was a heavy contingent of police at the venue as youths allied to Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza and ODM leader Raila's Azimio battled outside for hours.
The Star established that a mid-morning tweet by Ruto that he would be making his way to the cordoned-off venue after church triggered a crisis meeting amongst top police bosses who finally agreed to allow the rally.
Police had on Sunday morning said the deployment was to avert violent confrontations, citing intelligence reports.
But Ruto's insistence that he would hold the rally despite area MP Babu Owino claiming to have booked the same venue, threw a spanner into the works.
Police pulled out at around noon after a meeting by top county security agents, allowing the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate to proceed with his rally.
The withdrawal of the officers left a vacuum as a lorry mobilising people to attend the rally was attacked in the area.
It is not clear who was behind the attack but at least five people were injured in the chaos including the area UDA candidate Francis Mureithi.
A bullish Ruto, who had urged his supporters to march to Jacaranda, arrived moments after 3pm under heavy police security, majority in civilian clothes.
At one point, rowdy youths believed to be of the rival camp pelted the DP’s convoy with stones forcing him and his running mate Rigathi Gachagua to sit back in their vehicles from their rooftops.
When he managed to storm the grounds, the DP railed against Raila whom he accused of masterminding the chaos to block him from accessing the venue.
The DP alleged that police, whom he said were reasonable enough to make sound judgment, were instructed to block him from accessing Jakaranda by people he said have only "50 days to go home."
“Mr Kitendawili pack and go, you have shed more blood in this country, you cannot continue to shed more innocent blood. You have to stop violence. How much blood of innocent people are you going to shed?” Ruto posed.
He added: “No amount of bullets, stones, intimidation and threats will stop this nation from changing and on August 9 we will change this nation for the better.”
Ruto said the days of misusing youths to throw stones and cause violence would soon come to an end with the August election.
"You will not get the youths you are misusing after the August 9 as we have a plan to change their lives,” Ruto said.
The DP arrived in a convoy that included Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang'ula (Ford Kenya) and Alfred Mutua of Maendeleo Chap Chap, among others.
Police had to stand on both sides of the road leading to the venue to reinforce Ruto's security as angry youths pelted hails of stones in an attempt to block him.
The DP did not spare his boss President Kenyatta as he took him head-on, accusing him of using security apparatus to try to stop the hustler march to State House.
In a hard-hitting statement, Ruto told Uhuru to stop misusing the police adding the President has 50 days to play politics with the critical sector.
“Stop abusing the police of Kenya, you have 50 days to leave office. Police officers of Kenya are meant to ensure there is law and order,” he said.
During Ruto's charged address, rival groups stayed a few metres from the middle of the ground as police stood guard at the centre separating the youths.
Ruto’s UDA party wrote to the electoral commission to enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct and block Embakasi East MP Babu Owino from the August 9 General Election.
"That you must summon the IG with great speed to discuss their role and specific functions during electioneering and campaign period. They must not accept to be used by Azimio and ODM political divide," UDA secretary general Veronica Maina said in a letter to IEBC.
UDA said the IG must remember that Kenya Kwanza stands a higher chance of winning the upcoming presidential election hence the need for them to act in a restrained fashion and to remain neutral "as this will make it easier for them to serve under any political divide which takes over power in 2022."
Addressing the rally, Mudavadi called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to investigate the violence and disqualify the perpetrators.
“As Kenya Kwanza our goal is not to misuse youths. I want to ask NCIC that you should investigate who is responsible for using these boys to throw stones. Who are these people who want to destroy the elections of this country?” he said.
Wetang'ula blamed the violence witnessed at Jacaranda Grounds on Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, saying they failed to ensure Ruto’s security as required for all presidential candidates.
“We want to put on notice Inspector General of Police that if our candidate gets any injury we shall hold you squarely responsible,” the Bungoma senator said.
An angry Ruto who spoke forcefully said the whole machination was about to intimidate his candidature and Kenya Kwanza to back down even in their bid for Nairobi governorship.
He said Kenyans will not surrender to intimidation and blackmail of "two families who are responsible for the current economic crisis in the country".
Ruto said his Kenya Kwanza will prioritise fixing the economy by allocating Sh150 billion for youth unemployment, boda boda, mama mboga and other small businesses.
“They are telling us that they want to change the Constitution but we are saying we want to fix the economy first so that they don’t get those they use to throw stones,” Ruto stated.
Police on Sunday had earlier cancelled the rally over double-booking of the facility by both Mureithi and incumbent Babu Owino..
Police sealed off the Jacaranda Grounds from the wee hours of Sunday before retreating later.
A police source told the Star the move was strategic to avoid ugly confrontations that could ensue between Kenya Kwanza supporters and their Azimio counterparts.
The security team in Nairobi had contended there would be chaos because both incumbent MP Babu and Mureithi had booked the venue.
And to avert any form of chaos, the officers decided to seal the venue on Saturday night.
Nairobi gubernatorial UDA candidate Johnson Sakaja who was among the organizers visited the site Sunday morning but was turned away.
And come Sunday morning, the DP had indicated he would go ahead with the rally.
This triggered a meeting of security officials who contended this would lead to confrontation and chaos.
“We think he is desperately looking for relevance with his team. We have withdrawn,” said one official who asked not to be named.
This was after they talked to Babu and told him not to take his supporters there.
Nairobi police boss James Mugera said they would offer security to the rally.
“We have met the organisers and will provide security to the meeting,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori
