Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday found himself yet again on wrong books of ODM brigade, with Raila Odinga's team hitting back over an article on Sunday Nation.
In the article, the paper claimed that Mr Odinga on Saturday officially joined 2022 presidential race, a claim which has since been dismissed.
And NASA Chief Executive Officer Norman Magaya on Sunday claimed that the article was sponsored by Dr Ruto, questioning his sincerity in his responses on the article.
"William Ruto sponsors a Sunday nation headline about a non existent @RailaOdinga candidature then proceeds to respond to it with fake conditions. Witchcraft is real . A career build through looting knows no legitimate route to public authority," he claimed.
Similar allegations were made by ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, who accused Dr Ruto of sponsoring media narratives against Mr Odinga.
'First it was the fake assassination, then Tuju being in "Railas kitchen cabinet" now it's "Raila to face off with Ruto in 2022". Then the planter himself emerges immediately to "express shock" at his own fake news! The pattern is clear. William is running out of narratives," he said.
In reference to the article, Dr Ruto said that he was ready to tackle Odinga in 2022 contest, adding that the veteran leader should however concede defeat if he loses.
“I want to tell him (Mr Odinga) that I am not worried about competing him but I want him to reassure Kenyans that he will not cause chaos,” Ruto said.
Mr Odinga, through Rachier and Amollo advocates, has given Nation Media Group 24 hours to issue a retraction, failure to which he will contemplate legal action against the publication.
"Raila Odinga to take legal action against Nation Media Group over defamation and malicious publication of false information information in their today's newspaper should they fail to publish unconditional retraction and apology on the front-page within 24hrs upon receiving the attached letter," said Philip Nyamai, an aide at Capitol Hill.