I helped Uhuru, Raila get top seats, now they’ve teamed up to lock me out – Ruto

DP William Ruto at the African Church of the Holy Spirit in Malava, Kakamega on Saturday, September 18, 2021. [Standard]

Deputy President William Ruto has accused both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga of betraying him.

Addressing a roadside gathering in Malava, Kakamega County after meeting members of the African Church of the Holy Spirit earlier Saturday, Ruto said it was he who hoisted both Kenyatta and Odinga to top positions in Government.

“I campaigned for Raila Odinga in 2007 to the point I was almost being locked up in Hague. I helped my friend Uhuru Kenyatta to become President in 2013 and 2017 general elections. All these happened in broad daylight. Now, they have teamed up to lock me out of presidency, claiming my father was a nobody in Kenya. Even the child of a single mother can become President in this country. Let them go away,” he said.

The DP reiterated his suitability for the President’s seat in 2022, saying his priority is the common mwananchi, “unlike other politicians” that he accused of harbouring selfish political ambitions.

“This time around, we are not concentrating on changing the Constitution to create positions for a few prominent people. We are concentrating on the bottom-up economic model. At the centre of the model, are the low-income people such as mama mbogas and boda boda operators,” said Ruto.

“The others (opponents) formed a political machinery to change the Constitution so that every politician gets a seat in Government, but that reggae push was stopped. There’s a God in heaven. [In 2022], we’ll form a Government of hustlers, so that we teach them a lesson.”

To prove he’s been in touch with the low-income earners, Ruto said he has attended at least 200 boda boda group harambees in Kenya since 2013.