President says he’s been able to deliver in his second term after he dropped thieves and embraced unity
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto are headed for a bitter political combat after the Head of State said that his first term was rocked by massive corruption.
Although the President did not mention Ruto, it was during a meeting with Ukambani leaders that he declared he would back a Nasa candidate to succeed him, knocking off the DP from his succession matrix.
Ruto has been pushed to the periphery in the running of government since the March 9, 2018 handshake between President Uhuru and Opposition chief Raila Odinga.
Uhuru’s Monday confession might have been targeted at the DP, who was a key cog in the management of government affairs in their first term between 2013 and 2017.
Uhuru’s declaration that he would back a Nasa principal for the presidency next year seemed to have rubbed Ruto the wrong way, with the DP taking to Twitter to rant. He accused the President of betrayal and made an official signal that he could be quitting the Jubilee Party.
Uhuru’s announcement that he will pick his 2022 successor from among the Nasa principals if they unite and agree on a single candidate was exclusively reported by the Star on Tuesday.
“So, was the destruction/dismembering of Jubilee, a national party, meant to pave way for support of regional/tribal parties in Nasa? Now, with the collapse of Jubilee, isn’t it fair for those who can’t fit in ethnic parties to build UDA as an alternative national party? Ama?” Ruto tweeted alongside photos of the Star story.
Earlier in the day, the DP had questioned Uhuru’s wisdom in supporting an opposition outfit, yet there were eight million Kenyans who voted for the ruling party in three elections.
“None, no youth, no woman, no man of the 8M who woke up early and voted 3 times for UK/WsR ticket merit support? It’s ok. We shall organize with God’s support,” he said.
Ruto in February said no one owes him anything and that he did not support Uhuru for the top job so that he would also get his backing. He does not need an endorsement from anyone to seek the presidency, Ruto said.
Details gleaned from Ukambani leaders who attended a high-level State House meeting on Monday revealed that the President spoke about how some leaders enriched themselves during his first term.
Uhuru told the leaders that he has now been able to post impressive performance in the second term because he dropped the ‘thieves’ and embraced unity.
“The President took us through his first term and openly said some people stole public funds and became billionaires overnight yet they cannot explain how they acquired their wealth,” an Ukambani MP who attended the meeting said.
After his reelection in 2017, the President launched an anti-graft purge that claimed high-profile public officers with close links to Ruto.
Setting the stage for an open political war between the dynamic duo-turned worst of enemies, the President revealed that massive corruption impeded Jubilee performance in his first term.
Uhuru enumerated some of the country’s mega scandals including the National Cereals and Produce Board maize scam in which billions were lost through fictitious supplies.
The MP said the President was categorical that much of the looting was through inflated contracts where individuals received kickbacks worth billions of shillings.
Uhuru has previously said that he will not hand over power to a ‘thief’, triggering fury from his political opponents.
In an edited video clip dispatched from State House, the President said he has been able to perform better in his second term because of his decision to ignore ‘politicking.’
“I have done much more than I was able to do even in my first term. Why? Because I have been able to focus myself working in conjunction with my colleagues and being able to focus on the development agenda and not the political agenda,” Uhuru said.
Ruto has consistently trashed Jubilee development record in the second term, complaining Uhuru shifted key government agenda, including affordable housing and healthcare to constitutional amendment.
“We must also say the truth. Our plan to create millions of jobs in the second term after laying the ground in the first term was put aside and the priority became the BBI,” he said in an interview with Citizen TV in April.
In the President’s first term, the DP was at the centre of government delivery and performance, as he frequently toured the country to launch projects and commissioned others.
He was, however, gradually shoved aside as the President moved to assert his authority after his reelection in 2017.
On Tuesday, Ruto gave his strongest disapproval of his boss, signalling the looming political combat between the two as 2022 nears.
The DP suggested that Uhuru’s 2022 move was an act of ‘betrayal’ to the millions of Kenyans who helped Jubilee romp to power in 2013 and in the 2017 repeat Presidential poll.
“Eucho!!Ngai fafa mwathani!! So, what happens to the Thurakus, the kumìrà kùmèrà contingent, the 8 million of us?” Ruto said on Twitter Tuesday morning.
But Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, a key Ruto critic, said the DP should not complain as he had dug his own hole after years of undermining the President.
The vocal lawmaker wondered why the DP was appearing surprised over Uhuru’s move yet he has been fielding aspirants against Jubilee Party to cut the President down to size.
“It is surprising that he [Ruto] is not even ashamed of trying all he could to undermine the President even in his own Mt Kenya backyard. Ruto is his own worst enemy,” Ngunjiri said.
He went on, “After chest-thumbing that he controls Mt Kenya, I think it is high time that he realised that things are no longer the same and that the man he despised is in control.”
Kandara MP Alice Wahome said “the country’s 2022 president will be decided by Kenyans and not through endorsement.”
While the DP has previously maintained that he does not need the President’s endorsement, it has emerged that the President’s aggressive stance on 2022 has come as a shocker to the DP and his team.
The President’s remarks have exposed his determination to play a key role in his succession matrix.
Nasa, which unsuccessfully ran against Uhuru in 2017, comprises Raila Odinga (ODM), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula.
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria said by pledging to support Nasa, the President has officially joined the Opposition camp and abdicated his responsibilities as Head of State.
“Because the President has crossed over to the Opposition and left his seat unattended, it is high time that he vacates the seat for William Ruto to complete the remaining period,” Kuria said.
Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga questioned why the President has decided that he will back his 2017 rivals over his “extremely loyal deputy” who stood with him.
“I don’t get something here. The President declared publicly that he will support his former rivals and saboteurs of his government for presidency over his long time friend and extremely loyal deputy?,” Omanga posed.
However, ODM chairman John Mbadi, an ally of Raila, told the Star that it is time the DP realised that his relationship with his boss has hit rock-bottom.
“Ruto should know that his relationship with Uhuru hit a beating because of his behaviour that undermined the President,” the National Assembly Minority leader said.
Mbadi defended the President’s track record over the last three years since the handshake, saying Uhuru has been able to deliver.
“Most of the ills including corruption, wastage of public funds and expensive borrowing were committed during the first term when Ruto was calling the shots,” the Suba South MP said.
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