Francis Atwoli's remarks that DP Ruto's name won't be on the ballot come 2022, formed part of the biggest political discussions this week, with most people interpreting his remarks as death threats to the second in command.
Atwoli who is the long-serving COTU Secretary-General has now come out refuting claims that he wished Deputy President William Ruto dead.
According to his latest sentiments quoted by Citizen on Thursday, April 18, while speaking during the burial of former Cotu Secretary General Justus Mulei Velle at Kakeani in Kitui West constituency, he claims that people misunderstood him.
He now holds that all he meant was that Ruto will not be in the next government pinning his argument on the constitutional changes that are likely to ensue.
“While I was in Lamu, I did not say that Ruto will die, no, but I said the referendum is coming and that there will be six slots, mark my words, Kalonzo Musyoka will be among the six but Ruto’s name will not be there” he said.
The remarks caused mixed reactions across the entire with western MPs allied to Dr Ruto throwing 'rotten eggs' on Atwoli's face.
Youths and senior comrades also took it to the streets of Nairobi to demonstrate while calling the DCI to quickly investigate Atwoli's remarks.
However, while responding to the remarks at the Salvation Army Citadel in Kakamega County on Sunday, Dr Ruto associated it to the dark world before calling on people to pray for Atwoli.
“In this country right now, the contest is between two groups; those who believe in God and those who believe in witchcraft. When you hear someone saying that he has been told by witch-doctors that a certain person will be on the ballot and the other will not, it tells you a lot about where the country is right now,” Dr Ruto said.