My deputy is unsuitable successor, enemy of Mt Kenya, President Uhuru says
President Uhuru Kenyatta tore down his Deputy President William Ruto’s popularity in Mount Kenya, accusing him of corruption, dishonesty and dishing out stolen wealth.
In his hard-hitting address delivered in Gikuyu at Sagana the President painted Ruto as dishonest, criticized the performance of dockets under his oversight, such as Agriculture, as part of a power-sharing pact, and chastised him for early campaigns that have rattled his administration in the second term.
“The person I will hand power to and you all know him and you have been mentioning his name, will inherit a 13 trillion economy from me yet I inherited a 5 trillion economy from Kibaki. Then someone out there says I have done nothing. I cannot risk handing over to someone who will not take care of this economy and I am saying it here without fear. I will hand over to that person, the one that you all know,” Kenyatta said.
Kenyatta stated that he informed his deputy of the conversations with Odinga following the disputed 2017 presidential election up until the day they formally announced the truce on the steps of Harambee House in March 2018.
“Even before I went to Harambee House for the Handshake, Ruto was the last person I spoke to,” he said.
The President accused his deputy of duping farmers with his “hustler” campaign promises, despite the fact that farmers’ lives were damaged when the Agriculture ministry was under his supervision and that Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya was now attempting to clean up the wreckage.
In addition, contrary to assertions by his opponents that he had abandoned the region, the President claimed that his government had invested billions of shillings in major initiatives.
One of the projects that will simplify travel and trade in the region, he said, is the completion of the 582-kilometer Mau-Mau-road that runs across Mt Kenya region counties.
He also mentioned the Sagana Marua dual highway and the Thiba Dam as examples of government initiatives that would benefit communities.
He also mentioned the issue of 1.6 million title deeds, the improvement of coffee prices to Sh110 per kg, and the rise in tea prices.
Enhanced coffee prices from Sh20 per kilo during the previous administration to Sh110 now, as well as an increase in the minimum auction price for tea from Sh181 to Sh311 were two examples of how his administration improved farmers’ earnings.
The audience was told that the Thiba Dam will raise the value of rice and other horticulture crops in the area from Sh10 billion to Sh21 billion after it is completed.
The crowd, which had to travel up to five kilometres to get to the opulent resort, gave the President three standing ovations for his not-so-subtle attacks on his deputy.
