Don't blame DP Ruto for Jubilee failures, Kenya Kwanza leaders tell Uhuru Kenyatta

The Kenya Kwanza alliance has hit out at President Uhuru Kenyatta over his Labour Day message where he accused his deputy William Ruto of abandoning him in his hour of need.

The President said on Sunday that the DP left him to handle issues affecting the country all alone, when he needed him most.

But Ruto allies in Kenya Kwanza led by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, defended the DP saying the buck stops with the President and he should not blame anyone else. 

“When the gods want to punish you, they make you go crazy and it is late in the day to complain. You had record numbers of leaders in the August House but instead of brainstorming how to handle issues, you scattered them only to come back and complain that you were abandoned,” Mr Muturi said in Nandi County on Sunday. 

Kenya Kwanza leaders had gathered in Nandi for an interdenominational prayer and thanksgiving for UDA party nominees in the region.

Mr Muturi said the cost of living in the country is high and it is not because of the DP.

“The best thing would have been for the Jubilee administration to tap from the expertise in the numbers they had. Someone should take responsibility because there has never been a meeting for solutions,” he said. 

Responsibility

Mr Mudavadi criticised President Kenyatta saying he was running away from his responsibilities.

“Labour Day is a day to give hope for downtrodden labourers, but it is shocking that the President chose to give a litany of problems. You cannot say that the cost of living is high and the inflation because of the Deputy President,” he said, adding that the President should be honest with Kenyans and tell them how he has been running his government. 

“The President needs to tell us the last time he convened a full Cabinet meeting to deliberate on issues affecting the common citizen. The buck stops with you Mr President,” said the ANC leader. 

The ANC leader said the country is reeling from a huge international debt and the global pandemic of Covid-19 has seen millions of Kenyans lose jobs.

“The President, instead of dealing with huge debts owed by the country, has been making rounds talking about his deputy. He needs to be alive to the fact that he is squarely to blame for everything that has gone wrong,” said Mr Mudavadi. 

Uhuru legacy

He also criticised the President over attempts to amend the Constitution through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). 

“The Constitution of Kenya 2010 was among the late President Mwai Kibaki’s legacy, which President Kenyatta underscored during his burial on Saturday.

But he has been determined in mutilating it. As a sign of honour to the late President the Kenya Constitution, should not be changed,” he said.

He said the Jubilee government has not cared about leaving a solid legacy like the late President Kibaki.

“The president only supports the ODM leader Raila Odinga so that they re-introduce the BBI that has been rejected by the people and even the courts. As Kenya Kwanza, we want a clear victory in the August General election because we are resolute in dealing with the issues affecting Kenyans once and for all,” added the ANC leader.

Be fair to DP

Mr Sang, who secured the UDA ticket on which he will defend his seat in the August General Election, said the President signed an executive order which gave powers of the DP to Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i and he should be fair to his deputy.

“No one is a visitor in Jerusalem. Everyone knows the defacto DP is ODM leader Mr Odinga. In the first term you achieved a lot because you allowed your deputy to work with you. It is now unfair for you to call out DP Ruto for the misgivings in your government,” he said.

The clerics who conducted the prayers called on the government to support the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

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