Angry DP Ruto tells off Raila, says Kenya ‘has no shortage of fools’

Deputy President William Ruto has lashed out at ODM leader Raila Odinga in a war of words over the much-publicised fight against corruption.

On Friday, a visibly angry DP maintained his stance over investigations into alleged loss of funds intended for the Kimwarer and Arror dams that he said have been politicised.

“…They have whipped together a narrative to try and criminalise and bastardise these development initiatives. The lords of poverty, people who have benefited from keeping people in the slavery of poverty want to criminalise every development initiative. They have orchestrated and are driving a narrative that every government initiative has a corruption element in it,” said Ruto.

This came after ODM leader Raila Odinga hit out at Ruto over his recent corruption remarks during the party’s National Executive Council meeting.

“They are bold, fearless, reckless and contemptuous but a criminal is a criminal and it should not be ethnicised,” said Mr. Odinga.

DP Ruto on Thursday indicated that only Ksh.7 billion is unaccounted for in the construction of the dams which raised questions as to the authority of the pronouncement from the the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) whose figure still stands at Ksh.21 million.

“We are not going to win the war on corruption by exaggerating figures…. I want to tell my friend who is peddling these lies that we know his scheme…. he is a master of propaganda… he told his friends that he is coming to break Jubilee and I want to tell him that there is no shortage of fools,” DP Ruto said on Friday.

He added: “We will not allow people whose signature is keeping people in the slavery of poverty and fighting every development initiative using fake data, fake news and false information to try and scuttle the development agenda that we have set for our country.”

He further warned leaders against targeting him as they ‘weave falsehoods’ saying the focus should not be on the ‘petty’ politics of 2022 but the development of Kenyans.

“There are people who told us that if they lose an election they will go and make mandazis. Why don’t they go and do that instead of bringing mandazi business into a very serious program that we are focusing on,” he posed.

His remarks seemed to be directed at ODM leader Raila Odinga who in 2009 said he would go and make mandazi in Kibera if conserving the Mau Forest finished his political career.

On Friday, the DP continued his scathing attack over the Kimwaror and Arror debacle saying the government will continue with the construction of dams across the country.

He however urged leaders in the areas where construction is planned for to avoid wastage and mismanagement of public funds saying the fight against corruption must not be on the basis of falsehoods in the media.