Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga now claims that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s supporters living in Rift Valley do not owe Deputy President William Ruto any political debt and should not be coerced to back his 2022 State House bid.
But in what could stir a fresh political row and escalate the rivalry between the two leaders, Raila said the alleged Uhuru-Ruto pact signed prior to the 2013 General Election was personal and not binding on the communities they come from.
He said Kenyans would not be intimidated or succumb to any political pressure over a non-existent political agreement purported to have been signed between President Uhuru and his deputy.
According to the opposition chief, Kenyans are not party to the 2022 political pact they have little knowledge about. “As Kenyans, we want to see a united nation and that’s what we have been pushing for since we signed the Handshake deal in 2018,” Raila said insisting his pact with President Uhuru is not pegged on succession politics.
But in thinly veiled attack on the former premier, Ruto asked leaders to shun the politics of deceit, betrayal and conmanship. He warned those he termed as “political conmen” to keep off Jubilee Party affairs maintaining that the archaic fashion of politics would not help the country.
“If you cannot keep your word, a written agreement, with fellow leaders how can you keep a verbal promise to the people of Kenya,” Ruto stated insisting that Jubilee was a party of gentlemen who always keep their word and is committed to fulfilling its promises to Kenyans.
“We (Jubilee Party) keep our word to leaders and to the citizens.That is why we are implementing every pledge that we made to the people of Kenya,” he said in Kakuma town in Turkana on Sunday.