President William Ruto has told off the opposition leaders over their plans to resume mass action protests.
Ruto termed the actions as selfish and unfair to the people of Kenya. He was speaking in Narok town where he commissioned a Sh1.5 billion water and sewerage project.
"If you are a leader who values this country, how can you plan things that are destroying people's property, businesses and our economy, and you call yourself a leader?" said Ruto.
The President, without mentioning names, lashed out at ODM leader Raila Odinga and his allies who have been spearheading the protests, saying that they do not qualify to hold leadership roles.
"When you are planning those protests, lives are lost and losses incurred, what is going on in your head? What kind of a leader can you become if that is all you can plan?" the President said.
According to Ruto, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition leaders' actions portray them as hypocrites seeking personal gains at the cost of losses incurred by innocent Kenyans they claim to be fighting for.
"You can't be a hypocrite to this extent. It cannot be fair, it is not right for any leader while they are prosecuting their selfish agenda, they destroy property, cause chaos, destroy life and cause anarchy in our country," said Ruto.
The President reiterated his firm stand that he was elected President on August 9, 2022, and that nothing would deter him from discharging his duties as expected.
"We held and concluded our elections on August 9. There was nowhere we agreed that it would be followed by protests. It is time to work. If anything, let us respect each other," said Ruto.
While appealing for patience among Kenyans in areas where development projects have stalled, Ruto said it was not his fault the government was struggling financially.
"The people who were in government took the money to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and handshake. There are many projects that have stalled, but they will get first priority. Give me time, before next year we shall have changed things," said Ruto.
He urged Kenyans to have confidence in his administration, noting that the government was taking short-term and long-term measures to lower the cost of living especially the skyrocketing food prices.
"We are working with the private sector to import food and lower prices but this is a temporary solution. The long term solution is producing our own food. We have provided cheap fertilizer and I promise to even lower its price next year," he said.
He took issue with cartels in the milk sector whom he vowed to dismantle, saying that milk had been poorly priced by forces in the dairy market to the detriment of farmers.
Narok Governor Patrick ole Ntutu in his address called on residents to distance themselves from the protests by the opposition.
Ole Ntutu said with the ongoing rains, locals are busy working on their farms.
The governor said his administration has set aside over 200 acres of land for affordable housing and industrial park projects.
