Deputy President William Ruto has said he is focussed on the 2022 presidential race and his opponents should stop using lies and propaganda to taint Jubilee and the government.
Ruto dismissed accusations Jubilee is acting contrary to the Constitution, adding the government will implement the pledges made during the election.
He told NASA to stop causing hatred and animosity “in the hopes of capitalising on sympathy in 2022”.
Ruto spoke yesterday during an interdenominational service in Turbo, Uasin Gishu county.
“We defeated them twice last year and let them prepare for a rematch with me in 2022,” Ruto said. He said President Uhuru Kenyatta and himself respect the rule of law and the Constitution “unlike leaders in the opposition”.
“We have faced many hurdles as a government and Jubilee, and if we were not respecting the rule of law, this country would be in total chaos,” Ruto said.
He said Jubilee accepted the Supreme Court decision to nullify Uhuru’s win in the August 8 election and hit the ground running seeking votes for the October 26 polls.
“We won again and when they went back to court, we followed the due process and were declared winners,” Ruto said. He also made reference to the ICC cases, saying he and Uhuru followed the law. “Remember how we were hauled to the Hague over claims of crimes against humanity. We attended court as law-abiding citizens and luckily the cases collapsed due to lack of evidence,” Ruto said.
He said the country faces many challenges and urged Kenyans to unite and engage in development instead of politicking.
Ruto said the government is focussed on implementing all projects it pledged to do, key among them electrification, infrastructure, delivery of quality healthcare services and water.
“The election is over and it is time we focus on development and unite all Kenyans irrespective of our political and religious affiliations. This will enable us to achieve development faster,” Ruto said. NASA, he said, must follow the rule of law and the Constitution and stop engaging in sideshows aimed at creating instability.
“They should help address issues affecting Kenyans and wait for the next election in 2022. We are ready for them again,” Ruto said.
The 2022 succession politics was the central topic during the prayer service attended by 15 MPs, mostly from Western and Rift Valley.
This came a day after Deputy president William Ruto dismissed claims that the jubilee government was not respecting the rule of law saying those propelling propaganda that Jubilee had thrown the constitution to the dogs were just noise makers seeking to distract the government.
While speaking he asked politicians to respect the law Ruto saying all Kenyans must submit to the Constitution and the rule of law, not rule of men.
he further said when President Uhuru Kenyatta and him lost the 2002 elections they respected the outcome and formed the Opposition
He said they also accepted the International Criminal Court (ICC) summons despite the fact that they were innocent and attended the court where they proved their detractors wrong.
According to Ruto, when the Supreme Court nullified their August 8 win, they respected the law by going back to the repeat presidential election in October 26 as demanded by the highest court in the land.
In his statement, DP Ruto said, “If there are people who respect the rule of law, then it’s us in Jubilee. We have track record of abiding by the rule of law and we will continue doing so,” he said.
He further added, “This democratically elected Government under the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta will continue to be run on the basis of the Constitution and the rule of law”.