Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) and President Uhuru Kenyatta during a past event at KICC. [Photo: nation.co.ke]
President Uhuru Kenyatta Wednesday took a swipe at the National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga, labelling him a ‘specialist in dividing Kenyans.’
Speaking during his tour of Muranga County, the Head of State said while other leaders are busy trying to unite Kenyans, the former Prime Minister is always busy dividing them along tribal lines.
“Raila is a specialist in dividing Kenyans. We want a united Kenya unlike what Raila is advocating for,” President Kenyatta said at Kiunyu shopping centre.
He cited the recent remarks the opposition leader made while on a campaign tour in Kajiado County, saying such statements were meant to incite Kenyans against each other.
The Jubilee Party leader wondered how such statements could come from a person who wants Kenyans to elect him as the Head of State.
“Do you want to be President of Kenya or President of a few tribes?” asked the President adding that Raila’s remarks were inflammatory and could put a wedge between different communities living in the country.
“I am surprised at what he is saying. He is not talking as a leader because no genuine leader can stand in front of Kenyans and claim that some people should leave a certain area,” he said while addressing Gatanga residents.
Kenyatta said that the NASA leader was so divisive that he even cites debt waivers for coffee farmers to incite other Kenyans who do not grow coffee as a cash crop.
He said his administration has subsidised coffee farming the same way it has subsidised sugar cane farming, adding that subsidies for farmers has been done on a national scale.
“The government has subsidised farmers across the country. He (Raila) forgets that we implemented livestock insurance to serve pastoralists and that we have put in so much money to revive Pan Paper,” he stated.
The President and his deputy William Ruto urged residents to come out in large numbers during the August general election to ensure the ruling coalition is reelected.
“We want to continue with the work we have been doing of transforming Kenya. We want to continue with connecting more Kenyans to electricity, to modernise hospitals,” he added.