Ruto: Uhuru was not forced to back Mudavadi

Eldoret North MP William Ruto [Photo:File/Standard]

By Geoffrey Mosoku

The drama that has engulfed the jubilee alliance continued to unfold on Wednesday with Eldoret North MP William Ruto contradicting Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s assertion that he was coerced to back Musalia Mudavadi.

Ruto, a key pillar in the Jubilee Alliance, stated that there was no pressure on Uhuru to sign an agreement to step down for Mudavadi adding that the decision was voluntary.

He said that the TNA presidential candidate signed the agreement on his own volition, contrary to Uhuru’s remarks on Tuesday.

Ruto’s remark follows a revelation by Uhuru and Mudavadi of the existence of the secret deal.

“I am sure there is no pressure from outside at least on any one of us. The people that Uhuru may have been consulting may have of course brought out many other issues. When Uhuru Kenyatta mentioned this to me, I thought he was going to stand tall when it happened and I believe that deep down, he wanted this to happen,” he said.

Uhuru had on Tuesday told TNA delegates that he agreed to sacrifice his presidential ambition for Mudavadi after pressure from ‘dark forces’.

“You saw us showcase our unity at the Afraha in Nakuru but thereafter a devil who does not know where we started came saying that if we continued in our quest Kenya would not get foreign aid; we will not sell our tea abroad, that we will cause war in Kenya since Kenyans are not ready for another Kikuyu presidency . So I decided that instead of involving Ruto in it I would make the decision myself due to my love for the country and peace,” Uhuru had stated on Tuesday.

But speaking on Cheche, a programme on Citizen Television Wednesday morning, Ruto maintained there were no such threats or intimidation at all.

He and MPs Najib Balala and Chirau Mwakwere accompanied Uhuru to Mudavadi's Riverside Drive home on the evening of December 4, where the secret document authored and signed by the Gatundu South MP was presented.

“If he did not want this to happen, he would not have put his signature on a piece of paper. That tells you the level of commitment Uhuru Kenyatta had towards expanding this Jubilee coalition and bringing on board Musalia Mudavadi and other Kenyans so that we can truly have a broad based government,” he said.

The Eldoret North legislator who is designated to be the running mate in the Jubilee coalition dismissed Uhuru’s Tuesday remarks to TNA delegates saying were blown out of proportion.

“People would just want to look at the negative side of this thing. Was it an act of selflessness? Why don’t you ask yourself, how did Uhuru Kenyatta then say, let us bring Musalia Mudavadi on board and I am even willing to give in so that he can run. Uhuru Kenyatta is not a greedy man as many people would want to believe. He was willing to cede,” he said.

He explained that Uhuru had decided to listen to the sentiments of his supporters who wanted him to go through a delegates’ conference.

“The only thing that we have a problem with is the constituency that is saying okay, you guys may have gone into a room and you may have decided whatever you did and we have no problem with Musalia Mudavadi. Let us go to a process that is democratic and Uhuru Kenyatta is saying, fine, I am ready to still carry through with this, with the participation of a delegates conference,” he said.

TNA delegates on Tuesday passed a resolution rejecting a deal that would have seen Uhuru drop out in favour of Mudavadi, further endorsing him as the party candidate but mandated him to contest the jubilee candidature against the UDF leader through a delegate’s conference.

The TNA Secretary General Onyango Oloo declared that the deal was not binding to the party as it had not been sanctioned by any party organ while insisting that it’s only through an NDC as the highest decision making organ of the party.

Uhuru had confessed signing the secret pact with Mudavadi; a decision he blamed on ‘dark forces’ for arm-twisting him in signing the deal.