Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga now says it is absurd for his Kenya Kwanza opponent William Ruto to blame him for the rising cost of flour.
Raila flipped the blame on the Deputy President saying he facilitated maize importation leading to the current high flour prices in the country.
"You know they have been complaining that the cost of living is high...Ask them who brought maize from Mexico. He (Ruto) is the one who ruined the maize market here," Raila said.
Raila spoke Friday during a campaign rally in Lugari, Kakamega county.
In 2017 and 2020, the government allowed the importation of maize from Mexico to bridge the deficit as farmers waited for the harvest season.
Ruto has been hitting out at the ODM leader claiming his 2018 handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta was the reason unga prices have shot up.
“In 2018, the 2kg packet of maize flour cost Sh75. It is now selling at Sh250 and we are told that after I was elbowed out, [it] is the Azimio guy,” he said during a rally in Kilifi on June 26.
Ruto claimed Raila was giving Uhuru bad advice, leading to the current high cost of living.
In 2017, Raila threatened to expose those behind the importation of maize, and claimed the DP was among those involved.
He said the maize importation process was fishy and wondered how it took a short period of time for the shipment to arrive in Kenya.
"The maize which arrived in Kenya on May 12 was acquired in a fishy deal that puzzles the public," Raila said then.
Ruto, however, defended the government saying they had made a deal with private entities to bring in five million bags of maize to cover the deficit in the local market.
He said the maize was imported from Mexico into South Africa under storage before being shipped to Kenya.
"The information I have is that the maize came from Mexico. The government of Kenya is not the importer."
He added that the shipping had taken just enough time.
"It is not true that the maize arrived after three days. One month was enough for importers to bring in the commodity," Ruto said.
