Politics
No Cause For Alarm, William Ruto Assures Residents Over Fears Of Poll Chaos
Deputy President William Ruto has assured Nakuru County residents that there will be peace before, during and after the August 9 General Election.
The UDA leader, speaking after a meeting with residents, called on Kenyans seeking seats to commit to peaceful campaigns.
Njoro, Molo, Kuresoi and Elburgon residents, who met the DP and other Kenya Kwanza leaders yesterday, had expressed fears over possible poll chaos in their areas ahead of elections.
Ruto was accompanied by his running mate Rigathi Gachagua, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, Njoro MP Charity Kathambi, Bahati’s Kimani Ngunjiri and Senate aspirant Tabitha Karanja.
The media was locked out of the meeting that lasted more than six hours. Speaker after speaker at the event claimed they were living in fear as the ghosts of previous poll chaos haunt them. The locals said they were hesitant to support Ruto fearing he would not take care of their interests.
“We have had fears and we keep asking ourselves what will happen if we give the Deputy President this seat. Will he take care of us? That has been our fear. That is why in this area, we are hesitant to support you,” said Mr John Macharia.
The issue of land and displaced persons also cropped up, with locals calling on Ruto to promise to he will address their issues should he succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Mr Peter Gikonyo said displaced people in Molo were never compensated. He said there are fears hostilities could return as the campaigns peak. He told the Kenya Kwanza brigade that their hearts are heavy for fear of the unknown.
“Give out an order immediately you get elected so that those occupying land that was not allocated to them can vacate it,” he said.
While assuring the residents of peace, Ruto called on Azimio la Umoja One Kenya flag bearer Raila Odinga and other leaders to condemn political violence.
The DP said he made a major sacrifice in 2012 when he dropped his presidential bid to support Uhuru for the sake of peace. He assured locals that the August poll will be orderly and peaceful, saying the country had learnt lessons from the 2007-2008 post-election skirmishes.
Deputy President William Ruto has vowed to that his government if given the mandate to lead the country in the August 9 polls will deal with hands-on with ‘State capture.’
According to the Presidential candidate, state policies are being used to facilitate the theft of public funds as corruption had been absorbed into government.
DP William Ruto made these calims while speaking to the Reuters in an interview.
“We have no intention of prosecuting President Uhuru Kenyatta, but we have every intention of dealing with State capture. It cannot be business as usual,” the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential candidate said.
DP Ruto’s running mate, Rigathi Gachagua also alluded to said State capture, saying those involved will be dealt with should Kenya Kwanza form the next government.
“We will not go after individuals. We will go after all those in state capture and conflict of interest,” Gachagua said in a joint media broadcast.
The Mathira MP vaguely explained that it was “people in power who have used or are using their offices to use up public resources to their advantage,” when asked who or what State capture was.
The DP has also revealed plans of bringing to end the Kenya’s national debt, which currently stands at Sh9 trillion, in an exclusive interview with international media.
He said the country has the capacity to handle the debt situation, and that they as Kenya Kwanza have mapped out plans of how to go about it, should they win.
“We will put the brakes on more borrowing. It may not come to zero but we will begin the journey to slow down on more borrowing,” the DP said.
Campaigns hit fever pitch and candidates scramble for airtime to sell their agendas with just eighteen (18) days left as Kenya will soon be headed to the General Election.
Sonko has increased the intense in the race for Mombasa county which already has aspirants from the UDA and ODM parties.
Sonko has finally been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to contest for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
On Thursday, July 14 2022, Sonko in the accompany of his supporters was given the green light.
The former Nairobi governor was invited by the IEBC to submit his letter for clearance as per a letter addressed to him earlier.
“The venue will be the IEBC Mombasa County offices and you are expected to submit your papers on July 14, 2022 between 2pm and 4pm,” Swalha Ibrahim the returning officer said.
The letter to Sonko came after a high court ruled that the politician doesn’t be disqualified from vying for governor noting that the governor was eligible to run for office. The commission said it could not head to the courts to appeal the decision as time could not allow.
Addressing the media after the clearance, Sonko said his candidature seeks to solve the problems of the people in the Coastal city and that he was bringing a new awakening in the city.
Sonko said he was not worried about the short time time line he has to undertake the campaigns in the large city noting that he was drawing a campaign schedule to begin immediately.
“We must campaign, we have few days but we will utilize them properly. We can do two days per constituency or a day per constituency,” Sonko noted.
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