A section of ODM leaders have slammed Deputy President William Ruto, following his attacks on their party leader Raila Odinga in Mombasa on Sunday.
Led by Kwale Woman Representative Zuleikha Hassan Juma, the leaders issued the below statement on Monday, at Parliament Buildings, Nairobi.
"Statement by opposition MPs on Deputy President William Ruto; October 1, 2018.
Kenyans watched with horror and disbelief as Deputy President William Ruto went on a tangent yesterday, launching vicious attacks on Hon Raila Odinga and his working relationship with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Unbelievable as Mr Ruto’s tantrums were, they were not exactly unexpected. Ruto’s anger has been boiling for some time. It was just a matter of time before he exploded.
The strange rage of William Ruto has exposed two things Kenyans should be really worried about.
First, it is now abundantly clear that Ruto does not want the peace and stability that the handshake between President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga has brought to the country. It is clear that Ruto thrives on chaos, division, hatred and commotion and that is what he is trying to plant across the country in the name of launching development projects.
It is unfortunate that while Hon Odinga and President Kenyatta are busy building bridges among Kenyans, Ruto is doing the opposite, planting anger and mistrust among communities and leaders. It is Ruto is funding division and hatred among Kenyans and he has chosen the Coast as his launching pad.
That is unacceptable.
It is clear that the working relationship between President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga and their respective parties is a problem for the DP because for years, Ruto has positioned himself as the defender of the President, the man Uhuru needs to be safe from ODM and Raila Odinga.
The DP has also been riding on the animosity between the main ethnic blocs that support the two main parties to build a political career. The handshake killed the card Ruto was holding and rendered him almost irrelevant to the success of Uhuru’s agenda.
The DP is fighting back to open more rifts and more wounds. We challenge Ruto to sue for peace in Narok where tribal clashes have resurrected. His silence on the deadly fighting in Narok speaks louder than any words and Kenyans would be justified to believe that the Deputy President knows what is happening there.
Secondly, it is clear that William Ruto is uncomfortable with the on-going war on corruption and impunity.
As the patron of corruption and the official face of impunity in Kenya, William Ruto wants to frustrate and forestall the war on corruption.
The crackdown on corruption means the taps are drying up and the DP and his associates in strategic parastatals will be finding it had to finance his numerous harambees and goat and chicken auctions at which he contributes millions at ago. The crackdown on corruption is also making it criminal to flaunt money in public.
The Deputy President’s sole strength as a politician has been capacity to distribute money whose sources are not clear.We call on President Kenyatta and Hon. Raila Odinga to refuse to be distracted. The war on corruption and impunity must proceed in an even more vicious manner.
The idea of leaders turning parastatals into cash cows and positioning themselves, as generous contributors at public functions must end.
In the meantime, Kenyans must be extremely worried and concerned about the anger displayed by the Deputy President.
That anger is unpresidential, scary and dangerous. Ruto is the man Kenyan does not need at this point in time."
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