David Ndii: There is plot to undermine DP Ruto politically

Economist David Ndii during an interview with KTN’s Tony Gachoka on Point Blank. [Beverlyne Musili/Standard]

The corruption purge could be a political ploy to destroy Deputy President William Ruto ahead of 2022 polls, economist David Ndii has said.

Mr Ndii likened the fight against graft that has been perceived to be targeting Dr Ruto and his allies to the biblical casting of demons by Jesus into pigs before they were drowned.

“Ruto and his people are the pigs. I am not saying that Ruto and his people have not done what they are accused of,” he said.

He spoke of how a “very close associate” of President Uhuru Kenyatta was confronted by his mother to explain why they were plotting against Ruto after promising to back him in 2022 for the top seat.

“A very close associate of Uhuru told me that his mother asked him why they cheated Ruto (about supporting him), and he had no answer,” Ndii said.

Ndii, who worked as a strategist for Opposition leader Raila Odinga in the last elections, told KTN News the Jubilee Party was bound to collapse before the next General Election.

“Jubilee was a house of convenience to fight the International Criminal Court, and since the ICC (cases are) no longer there, there is nothing to hold them anymore,” he said.

“In 2013, the first thing we did, we threw out Chapter Six through the window. People turned against us for standing with victims of post-election violence. The state we have is an administrative state, not a political state,” Ndii added.

The controversial economist further talked about the fears in the dynasty and hustler’s camps, claiming that should Ruto succeed to become President he may revenge against the establishments that have influenced the country’s politics since independence.

“They will destroy him if he runs and loses. They will bankrupt him and send him to jail. The dynasty is also scared that Ruto will destroy them if he wins,” he claimed.

The remarks come in the backdrop of blown out political exchanges pitting Uhuru and Ruto’s camps.

They also mirror claims by exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna, who talks, in his book, of a scheme to “weaponise” the war against corruption, ensnare Ruto and his close allies in Government, before ultimately bundling him out as Uhuru’s deputy.

The DP and his allies have publicly claimed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is being used to fight a political war.

Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen questioned how investigations into alleged corruption scandals were being done, claiming DCI boss George Kinoti was not acting independently.

“The work that is being done by Kinoti in the name of fighting corruption is not genuine. He is being used as a pawn in the alleged war on corruption,” Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, another close ally of Ruto, alleged at the weekend.

On reports that Uhuru was being sabotaged by his officers in the war against corruption, Ndii claimed the President was the author of his own problems.

He cited the Sh63 billion medical equipment services programme that had been dogged by claims of corruption.

“Uhuru Kenyatta is not being held hostage. For instance, you look at the medical equipment, they lease this equipment and forced it on the counties. Uhuru is the author of his own problem,” Ndii said.

He continued: “Instead of supporting devolution, they are trying to claw it back. He is the author of his own fate.”

Asked whether it was time for Uhuru to fire State officers who are either accused of corruption or not toeing the line – “just like Jomo Kenyatta did away with Jaramogi and Moi did away with George Saitoti”, he claimed Uhuru was not there for the interest of the country but that of his associates.

“If you look at the circumstances you have just described, Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki – regimes, the question you need to ask is why did you have these tainted people in the first place? He is in there for his business, associates and not for Kenyans. It is pure personal interest,” he claimed.

He said despite some of the challenges facing devolution, the 47 counties had implemented more projects compared to the national government.

He said counties had continued to receive small allocations but succeeded in impacting the lives of the common mwananchi. “When you ask the people on the ground “what projects do you see” they will tell you it is counties’ projects,” said Ndii.