Rigathi Gachagua, the running mate of William Ruto, on Saturday launched a shocking and unprovoked tirade against President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Gachagua even claimed, outrageously, that Uhuru was plotting to assassinate him.
With the election barely a week away, the ruinous intention was to galvanize his Nyeri listeners to hate Uhuru.
As the campaign approaches the home stretch, it should not be turned into a cynical game of incitement and violence.
Gachagua, as a responsible citizen, knows only too well that if you suspect someone is after your life, you dash to a police station and record a statement.
The MP did not tell his audience he had done any of that because his intentions were clear: Discredit Uhuru and neuter his capacity to campaign for Gachagua’s rivals in the presidential race.
This type of alarming hate speech is the last message we need in the lead up to the fiercely fought election.
Gachagua is not a foreigner to Kenya. He knows only too well mayhem of 2007 that will have been started by reckless politicians with narrow and selfish vision.
But in a show of maturity commensurate with the office he holds, Uhuru responded with responsibility and reminded Gachagua and his ilk they have hurled abuse at him for the past three years and he has decided to ignore the provocation.
That is the level headedness we expect from our politicians not the blind rush to add fuel to fire.
