Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto were strong political friends since the entry of the DP into Kenyan politics in 1997.
The two completely fell out soon after 2007 general elections when William Ruto was named as a suspect by the then International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo for post-election violence trial.
Since then, DP Ruto maintained that he was a ‘clean’ man and was even quoted saying that Raila Odinga has fixed him.
The enmity between the two politicians has been open to the public and they have been exchanging bitter words in different political platforms.
Recently, Ruto claimed that Raila had an ill motive in the famous ‘handshake ‘ between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The simple reason for this major political difference is William Ruto’s popularity in the Rift Valley region.
Ruto is the ‘commander ‘ of the Rift Valley’s votes and Raila Odinga is so much aware of this since the support of Ruto and the Rift Valley region during 2007 general elections saw him lose the presidency at the last minute. In fact, chances are high that he was rigged out.
In 2007 and 2013, Ruto supported Uhuru Kenyatta who was competing with Raila and Raila openly lost in both elections.This has made Raila bitter as he try to politically penetrate into the region ahead of 2022 elections where he will likely face Ruto in the presidential race.
William Ruto on his side is ready and willing to defend his empire and this has majorly contributed to the difference between the two politicians.
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