NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 22 – Deputy President William Ruto now says he has not started campaigns for next year’s presidential election.
While answering a question from a journalist after chairing an IBEC meeting at his Karen residence on Monday, Ruto said his countrywide meetings are not campaigns but a meet the people tour to seek and understand their views.
“I haven’t started the campaigns because the campaign period is not yet announced by IEBC, what you have seen me do is to do what my mandate is, speaking to people, understanding their issues, assessing the extent of our government programs on how far they are and receiving feedback from the public,” Ruto said in reference to his meetings that are always anchored on the 2022 campaigns in which he hopes to succeed his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta who is serving his second and final term.
“Maybe you haven’t seen me in a tie and I think that’s the problem. Government work can be done even without a tie. I think the only problem you have is that I have been working without being formally dressed. There’s no provision anywhere in the law that you must be in a tie to perform government work,” Ruto said.
Ruto is campaigning to be president under his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party after falling out of favour in the ruling Jubilee Party that is keen to enter into a pre-election alliance with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party of Raila Odinga.
