Raila plotting to disrupt elections: Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto campaigning at Maji Mazuri in Mwiki, Kasarani Constituency, Nairobi. [Moses Omusula, Standard]

Deputy President William Ruto claims Opposition candidate Raila Odinga was either plotting a coup or chaos to disrupt the October 17 presidential elections.

He said the stand by the National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders that they will not allow the repeat election to take place until major poll reforms are implemented is an indication they have 'planned for something'.

However, Mr Ruto, who spoke at Maji Mazuri grounds in Nairobi’s Kasarani area on Sunday, insisted that the repeat poll would take place whether Raila participates or not.

“When they say there will be no election, it can only mean that there will be a coup or chaos because the only way to stop the repeat poll is to cause chaos.

“Who are you to stop the election? People must vote next month to elect their president. I want to make it categorical that there will be an election next month,” said Ruto.

The Supreme Court on September 1, while invalidating President Uhuru Kenyatta's victory in the August 8 presidential vote, ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days.

IEBC has since scheduled the poll for October 17.

“It is the will of the people that shall prevail. That is our declaration from Sagana… We do not want to interfere. We want no favours. All we want is the vote of Kenyans to decide their leader within the set time,” President Uhuru Kenyatta told leaders on Friday during a retreat in Sagana to plan for his re-election.

Ruto, without mentioning names, said some individuals had plotted coups and election-related violence in the past.

“This country has history; we know people who have plotted for coup in the past. But we want to tell them that nobody is above the law, even the President,” added Ruto.

The DP accused the Opposition of trying to hold the country to ransom to cover for its lack of preparedness in the repeat election.

“It is them who went to the Supreme Court but now they want to tell us that they are not ready for the election. We are not fools; you cannot tell us that you want the repeat but at the same time tell us that you don’t want some commissioners, the firm that printed ballot papers, and the one that supplied technology,” charged Ruto.

Political players

The continued grandstanding by the key political players compound an already tense political environment that threatens to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis should the country fail to conduct the presidential election by September 1, when the 60 days spelt by the Constitution expires.

NASA has maintained that it will not only boycott the polls but will ensure that the repeat process does not take place until major reforms are effected at the IEBC.

But the ruling party said it will not allow Raila to threaten everybody and put the country in a limbo because of his 'selfish political ambitions'.