Deputy President William Ruto yesterday roped in the Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the arrest of a Venezuelan at the airport who was arrested with electoral materials.
Speaking in Mombasa, Ruto said the arrest and detention of the ICT foreign expert contracted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was a sign that his rival has panicked.
He claimed those behind the arrest of the expatriate were looking for an excuse to jeopardise the August 9 elections to have them postponed or reject the outcome.
“These people planned the arrest of a Venezuela national who is an IEBC official. We will not fall for their traps to postpone the election,” said Ruto, declaring he would be elected the next president.
The DP was campaigning in Mombasa for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidates key among them former Senator Hassan Omar who is eying the governor seat.
Earlier in the day, Ruto who is the UDA presidential candidate also toured Kilifi where he campaigned for the county’s governor candidate Aisha Jumwa.
In Kilifi, the DP came face to face with sibling rivalry in Kenya Kwanza coalition, between UDA and Pamoja Africa Alliance.
This is after Jumwa insisted that George Kithi of PAA should step aside and support her candidature. Ruto threw his support behind Jumwa and asked voters to vote for her.
At the same time, Ruto claimed Raila had no support in the country and that was why he resorted to “dirty tricks” to derail the preparation of the election by IEBC.
The deputy president, who was addressing a rally at Fort Jesus in Mombasa, claimed Raila had realized he had no support in the country and that was why he planning to reject the results and cause chaos.
“They are planning to reject the election results because Raila has sensed a defeat. But we will not allow them,” said Ruto who exuded confidence that he will defeat Raila very early in the morning on the election day.
He warned Raila against organising demonstrations or any sort of violence after the elections.
Ruto who was accompanied by Omar vowed to defeat his main rival in the coming polls.
He called on Mombasa residents to help him send Raila home, and put an end to the troubles the former Prime Minister has been giving previous presidents starting with Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki, and even President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017.
Meanwhile, Ruto promised some one million squatters in the Coast Region that he had come up with an elaborate plan to buy land owned by absentees landlords using government money to settle the landless.
“I will set aside millions of shillings to buy all absentees land in the region the way it was done in upcountry and ensure the squatter problem is resolved,” said Ruto.
The DP insisted the decision to lower the price of maize flour meal was an afterthought that will not help in lowering the high cost of living.
He said the State lost the battle to lower the cost of living after they failed to cushion the farmers from expensive fertilisers and seeds.
Ruto dismissed the lowering of the maize flour price from Sh200 to Sh100 as an attempt to hoodwink Kenyans terming it as an insult to Kenyans, adding that when he is elected, he will address the problem better than what was being done now.
The DP who addressed several rallies in Kilifi, Tana River, and Mombasa vowed to put things right in the country once he ascends to power.
