•Ruto alleged a plot to rig the election to his disadvantage.
•DP claimed that as many as 800,000 voters had been irregularly transferred.
Image: RAILA ODINGA/TWITTER
Azimio presidential flagbearer Raila Odinga has dismissed Deputy President William Ruto's vote-rigging claims as a sign of panic.
Raila said Ruto has sensed defeat and that is why he is claiming plans to manipulate the polls.
Raila insisted that Ruto has already realised that his Kenya Kwanza team cannot muster defeat against the jumbo Azimio coalition.
At several stops in Makueni county during his larger Ukambani tour, Raila said he was certain he has the vote to beat Ruto in the election which is about 55 days away.
He was accompanied by a team led by former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Governors Kivutha Kibwana (host) and Charity Ngilu of Kitui among other leaders.
The ODM leader maintained he has won in the past, with the support of Ukambani voters, only for the numbers to be manipulated to his disadvantage.
“I know you overwhelmingly voted for me in the two elections we ran together with Kalonzo but when the votes were taken to Nairobi, they were turned into vifaranga vya kompyuta,” Raila said.
The ODM leader having been bitten twice was no longer shy and has the confidence no one would interfere with his votes this time.
“They say that when a foolish man learns, the clever is in trouble. We have learned from our past experiences. Ruto should stop lamenting,” the former prime minister said.
“We have heard him crying that there is a plot to rig him out. He is raising claims of transferred votes. Where is your vote? He has just seen that the signs of the times have changed.
“He (Ruto) is behaving like a monkey with dark clouds above his nest, threatened by a rainstorm and is chattering...but let him know we are coming with a huge force."
Raila said he was assured of victory and is going into the race with full knowledge that he has “a reason, a mission to bring change to our (the) country.”
The Azimio candidate was responding to claims by Ruto who said in a recent interview that there was a plot to rig him out as part of the wider ‘Stop Ruto’ plan.
In an NTV interview on Sunday night, the DP said his opponents have resorted to all manner of unsavoury tactics to block his march to State House.
Ruto said there were tell-tale signs of a wider scheme by those backing Raila to manipulate the polls to the advantage of Azimio.
“We have heard stories that cast doubts on transparent elections. There were efforts to remove some commissioners, remove voters from Mt Kenya and Rift Valley from the roll,” he said.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said the claims were unfounded.
The DP had alleged that as many as 800,000 voters from Mt Kenya and Rift Valley had been struck from the voters' roll.
“It was largely people in Central and Rift Valley that were affected. What does that tell you? It doesn’t require rocket science. If you live in Kenya, you’d know that,” Ruto said.
But Raila held that the assertions were signs the Kenya Kwanza had run out of options in the race which took a new twist after the two frontrunners named their running mates.
Kalonzo said the task before them was very easy.
The latest opinion poll by Radio Africa Group showed Raila has a clear lead of 44.6 per against Ruto’s 38.9 per cent, buoyed by the ex-PM’s choice of Martha Karua as his deputy.
Raila said the DP should read the signs that “Kenyans are tired of poverty, ignorance, and disease” which he argued were fuelled by rampant corruption.
The former Prime Minister further took a swipe at Ruto accusing him of hoodwinking Kenyans that he had the solution to the graft problem.
Raila further trashed the DP’s Bottom UP economic model as one built on a fallacy saying the country cannot grow if poverty, ignorance and disease are not dealt with.
"Once we deal with these three, Kenya will grow. Kenya can’t grow if corruption is still rampant. Ruto says he has the cure yet he is among the cause of this problem," Raila said.
"How can he be the cure? Where has he found the cure? First of all, he is the king of corruption. Ask him where he gets the money that he dishes out. He earns only Sh2 million a month. Ask him where the rest of the money comes from.
"The difference between us and those we call Kenya Kwisha (Ruto team) is like day and night. They are talking of an unrealistic plan called Bottom Up. What is that?"
Leaders accompanying him urged residents to vote for Azimio.
"It has become clear that Ruto has no numbers to win this election. You (Ukambani) voted for Raila you know what happened. Raila has assured us the vote will not be stolen,"Suna East MP Junet Mohamed said.
Kibwana said they support Raila because they know he will bring development after taking over from Uhuru.
Ngilu said there are two horses in the race but the other one ran too fast and has since broken its legs and has now resorted to insults.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)