MURANGA, Kenya Oct 2 – Deputy President William Ruto has once again laughed off a recent political onslaught by an elite team of Mount Kenya billionaires keen to lock him out of their region in the 2022 succession race.
Speaking when he attended a prayer breakfast and launch of Spirit TV at Kenol, Murang’a County, on Saturday Ruto stated he has not been losing sleep over the unfolding scheme which he insists will amount to naught.
His remarks came days after top Mt Kenya tycoons hosted ODM Leader Raila Odinga’s for a luncheon even as they declared the beginning of a grand search for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor.
“God has blessed me with sleep. I rarely lose sleep. Many people have sleepless nights but I am not one of them,” Ruto said as he taunted the latest attempt to trim his fever-pitch popularity in President Kenyatta’s backyard.
Responding to critics of his “Bottom-Up Economic Model”, a philosophy that is a cornerstone of his 2022 presidential campaigns, Ruto said the preveiling trickle-down approach had failed because it bred cartels.
“When the programme we had for the transformation of Kenya was sabotaged and the Big 4 became very difficult to implement, we came up with the Bottom-up to replace the Big 4 programme,” he explained.
The DP also acknowledged the selflessness exhibited by Kandara MP Alice Wahome who dropped her bid for the Muranga County Gubernatorial seat in favor of Senator Irungu Kang’ata.
“I can confirm that Alice is material for higher office, but the fact that she decided that she wants to run for MP so that she can secure and support our course, is the kind of sacrifice very people can make especially in politics which is a very selfish game and everybody minds their interests,” the DP said.
Ruto was forced to revoke his endorsement of Senator Kang’ata in September following an uproar that saw some aspirants threaten to decamp from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
Defending his earlier sentiments, Ruto stated that he thought Kang’ata was the only leader from the county affiliated with United Democratic Alliance (UDA) seeking to take a stab at the gubernatorial seat.
Former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau, former Infrastructure Principal Secretary Nyakera Irungu have expressed an interest in the UDA candidature for the Muranga Governor seat which falls vacant after Mwangi wa Iria concludes his final term in 2022.
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