Ruto says United Opposition lacks brains to outsmart him

President William Ruto. [File, Standard]

President William Ruto has challenged the United Opposition to present their agenda for the 2027 general election, for Kenyans to have time to interrogate it. Four keywords and two catchy brief alternative headline please

Ruto claimed his rivals lack the intellectual capacity to craft a plan that can outshine his and that was why they had presented none.

The head of state claimed yesterday he knew all those who have lined up to oppose him and that he has the best agenda for Kenya.

He was speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta showground, Mkomani in Mombasa county when he launched the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme for Mombasa, Kwale and Taita Taveta counties.

“We know all of them. We know their intellectual capacity, which is low. They should bring their plan to the podium and explain it to Kenyans like me. Kenya is not a country for fools. They have no agenda, plan, or brain,” he claimed.

He claimed that while his political rivals were just seeking to remove him from office, he was focused on creating opportunities for the youth, including the NYOTA programme, affordable housing, digital and foreign jobs that have benefited thousands of youths.

“I have asked them for their agenda, but they have maintained that they want to remove William Ruto from office. That has been their only agenda,” he claimed.

He was flanked by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Cabinet Secretaries Wycliffe Oparanya, Salim Mvurya, and Alice Wahome.

Also present were governors Abdulswamad Nassir, Fatuma Achani, and Andrew Mwadime.

Prof Kindiki claimed the opposition was using young people as goons, hecklers, and bloggers instead of assisting them get sustainable opportunities.

“There are politicians using young people as goons and hecklers to make noise for them. Some young people are being used as bloggers to praise politicians,” he claimed, adding that the government has come up with initiatives to make the youth productive and have incomes.

Senate speaker Amason Kingi claimed that of the four past presidents, none came up with sustainable initiatives for the youth like President Ruto.

“Previously, youth were recruited under the kazi mtaani programme, where they were armed with slashers, which was not sustainable,” he claimed.

Nassir said governors had agreed to back the NYOTA programme and asked the youth to sustain their businesses.

Yesterday, the NYOTA event brought together 5,880 young entrepreneurs from Mombasa, Kwale, and Taita Taveta counties who received Sh139.5 million business grants.

The beneficiaries were drawn from 70 wards in the three counties: 30 wards in Mombasa, 20 in Kwale, and another 20 in Taita-Taveta.

Under the NYOTA business start-Up capital component, each beneficiary will receive Sh25,000 in the first phase.

Of this amount, Sh22,000 will be credited directly to each beneficiary’s mobile phone account, while Sh3,000 will be deposited into a Haba na Haba Savings Account managed by the National Social Security Fund.

In the second phase, each beneficiary will receive an additional Sh25,000, bringing the total start-up capital to Sh50,000 for each of the 121,000 young entrepreneurs nationally.

The disbursement of the funds follows the successful completion of a mandatory four-day business skills training, which equipped the young business people with practical skills to start and grow businesses.

The NYOTA programme is a key pillar of the government’s youth empowerment agenda, aimed at expanding access to funds, strengthening entrepreneurship, and creating sustainable livelihoods for young people across the country.

So far, young entrepreneurs from 44 counties have benefited from the funds.