War of words at Jubilee meet irritates residents

By FAITH RONOH

Eldoret, Kenya: A section of Rift Valley residents have expressed discontent in the manner in which President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto conducted a public function held in Eldoret on Monday.

The residents, who shared their disappointments on Kass FM’s Len Nee Emet show yesterday, said it was not good for the Jubilee coalition to wash dirty linen in public.

Some were also unhappy with the war of words leaders engaged in at the public function saying it was unnecessary to hit out at Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter. “It was not perfect for the leaders to have public confrontations over matters that could have been addressed amicably. The President and his deputy should have identified a better way of dealing with the matter,” said a caller.

They also faulted Uhuru for visiting the region to mend fences instead of addressing development matters.

A caller from Eldoret said, “It is unfortunate that Uhuru visited Rift Valley to address party politics while he spends time in other regions addressing development issues”.

The residents also took issue with leaders who tried to cool down temperatures raised by Keter saying the Nandi Hills MP is entitled to his opinion and no one should stop him.

“No one should victimise Mr Keter, who is our ‘messiah’, for expressing his opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions and trying to silence him will not salvage the situation,” another caller said.

Residents, who spoke to The Standard, said it is too early for the Jubilee coalition to experience disharmony when the country needs to move forward. Mr Jackson Kibor, a veteran politician, defended Keter saying he did the right thing by speaking on behalf of the public.

Kibor, who is also an elder of the Kalenjin community, faulted the President for “making empty promises” when he said Ruto will run the Government for ten years after his tenure. “When Keter spoke, he spoke for all of us. We are actually unhappy with the manner in which Government is being run. When people are sacked or fail to get jobs, it is not Keter who suffers,” he said.

“Keter has nothing to lose.  He is just concerned about the many things we as the people of Rift Valley are unhappy about.”

President Kenyatta was in Eldoret on Monday for what authorities said was a mission to thank North Rift residents for voting overwhelmingly for the Jubilee coalition in the March polls.