'Even sons of the poor can be rich,' Ruto tells off those who call him corrupt

Piece by: Geoffrey Mbuthia
Exclusives

Deputy President William Ruto yesterday mounted a fresh defense of his massive wealth and dismissed the Ipsos poll as “cooked”.

He vowed that he will not be distracted by “under-the-table” political tactics by his opponents and lashed out at his detractors in a veiled attack at President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

He blamed his opponents for the poll, which showed that 33 per cent of Kenyans perceive him to be the most corrupt of all the current and former living politicians.

“When they are through with the headlines and the corruption propaganda, let us meet at the development arena of the people of Kenya because that is where the real contest is, and we will not allow them to take us to an arena that has no benefit to Kenyans,” he said.

Ruto spoke during a breakfast meeting with Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru and 33 members of the county assembly. Waiguru polled second in the 'most corrupt leader' survey after Ruto, at 31 per cent.

“We have beaten them in serving Kenyans, now they have opted for fake opinion polls. As a matter of fact, they will never match our development records,” Ruto said.

Ruto said one doesn’t have to be born in a privileged family to be rich.

Kenyans born of humble backgrounds without godfathers and those who have worked hard to amass substantial wealth should not be branded as corrupt or thieves, he said.

The DP, born into a peasant family, has styled himself a hustler. He says he has worked his way up the social ladder.

“Those running ‘injili ya Shetani’ that unless your father was a minister, a vice president or a president, however hard you work you must remain poor and if not a pauper you must be corrupt and have stolen, they should know that those without godfathers have God the father. Shindwe,” the DP said.

Ruto’s statements appeared to target his main political nemesis, Raila, although he did not refer to him by name.

Raila has questioned the source of Ruto’s wealth and challenged him to take a lifestyle audit. He says he is living beyond his means because his salary is known.

Raila’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, served as the country’s first vice president in post-Independence Kenya, while Uhuru is the son of the founding father of the nation, Jomo Kenyatta.

Although Uhuru has never spoken on the raging debate about his deputy’s new financial status, he has ordered a lifestyle audit of all top government officers to determine the source of their wealth. The directive was interpreted as targeting his DP among other key government officials.

While voicing her support for Ruto, Waiguru also dismissed the Ipsos poll as the work of her competitors keen to set the 2022 campaign agenda by portraying her as corrupt.

“An arrow that is sent at night is sent by the same way it came. They will bring in politics and they will call us names but that will not affect us,” Waiguru said.

She added, “I was surprised when they grouped me together with heads of state and I am just a hustler. It must mean that God has something prepared for me,” she said.

The Ipsos report came amid heightened campaigns by the DP across the country in the name of supervising and launching of development projects. On average, the DP takes part in three or more functions in different parts of the country daily, all of which involve elaborate protocol arrangements and expenditures from public coffers.

Within less than 10 years, the DP has built a considerable war chest, enabling him to donate millions of shillings to different groups as he criss-crosses the country.

Most of the recipients are church-related.

Endless delegations

“Some people have been criticising my frequent church attendance. But if you investigate these people very well, they use their money at night. They take their money to witch doctors at night, but we take our money to church during the day for the work of God,” Ruto said at AIPCA Patanisho in Kayole on July 15.

The Deputy President has been on an all-out charm campaign across the country, courting regions and leaders with goodies from the national budget. High on the target list are areas previously inclined to support Opposition leader Raila, like Western, Coast and Kisii.

Ruto’s allies believe he has Rift Valley and the smaller, marginalised communities like Maasai, Turkana, Somalis and Tharaka behind him.

Ruto is creating networks of key people whom he hopes to be part of his campaign, including governors, MPs, senators and MCAs.

In Western, for example, Ruto’s key ally is Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, while at the Coast he is hoping to work with Kilifi governor Amason Kingi. In the Upper Eastern region of Embu and Tharaka Nithi, his point man is Senate Deputy Speaker Kithure Kindiki.

Ruto’s strategy has seen forays all over the country in a bid to solidify his support in the wake of the handshake between President Uhuru and Raila on March 9.

His tours caught the attention of the President, who referred to his movements as "tangatanga", loosely translated to mean 'roaming around'.

Besides Ruto’s daytime meetings with leaders wherever he visits, the DP is also said to hold numerous night meetings with different people to strategise. From his Karen home and office to Harambee House Annex and Sugoi, Ruto has been receiving endless delegations, all of which are geared towards paving the road to 2022.

Ruto intensified his campaigns after some Jubilee supporters and allies of President Kenyatta began to send signals that Central Kenya does not owe him automatic support.

Seemingly, Ruto has narrowed down to counties perceived to be favourable to him — Waiguru’s Kirinyaga, Mwangi Wa Iria’s Murang’a and Ferdinand Waititu’s Kiambu.

“He is our choice and I can assure you our people will vote for them,” Waititu said yesterday.

On Wednesday, the DP was scheduled to travel to Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi.

The Nyeri visit had to be called off after the elected leaders from the area said they had been invited to a meeting at State House.

In Rift Valley, Ruto is focusing his energies in the South Rift areas of Turkana, Baringo, Kericho and Bomet seen as having potential support for his rival, Kanu chairman and Baringo senator Gideon Moi.

Turkana governor Josephat Nanok has publicly declared that he will work with him although he remains in ODM at the moment.