The Deputy President Dr. William Ruto on Tuesday explained that the government withdrew police reservists from Kerio Valley to punish him over his political stand and quest to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Dr. Ruto who spoke during the presidential debate held at the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA) stated that security in the counties of Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Pokot and Samburu was stable before the President Kenyatta entered into a handshake deal with ODM’s Raila Odinga.
The Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate will face off with Odinga on the presidential elections slated for August 9. Odinga is who skipped the debate with Dr. Ruto is enjoying the backing of government and President Kenyatta.
The Deputy President also stated that police reservists were responsible for the security in the bandit-prone counties but were withdrawn on false grounds that he would use them as militia.
“A very reckless act. With the withdrawal of the national police reserve, the situation went south. It was really an unfortunate act, but because it was meant to punish William Ruto, is a real tragedy,” Dr. Ruto said.
Dr. Ruto revealed that more than 150 lives have been claimed in the Kerio Valley region in 2022 alone. He added that the volatile situation in the counties has pushed him to use his own resources to help the bereaved families bury the victims.
He stated that hell broke loose when he set his on presidency forcing his competitors led by President Kenyatta to withdraw the police reservists because he was the one who was in charge of deploying them in the region.
“In fact I was there every two weeks. I’m the one who mobilized the resources, so it looked like it was about me (but) it was not about me,” Dr. Ruto said.
The Kenya Kwanza candidate who debated alone also stated that his main rival Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition boycotted the debate because he has no agenda for Kenya and could not respond to the tough questions.
“My competitor is not here because he doesn’t have a plan. He doesn’t have an agenda and he cannot articulate anything to the people of Kenya,” he said.
And on his closing remarks, Dr. Ruto added that Odinga ran away from debate in contempt for the people of Kenya. “They think the Deep State and System is what will make the decision. It’s the people of Kenya,” Dr. Ruto said.
