On Monday, Deputy President William Ruto appeared on BBC’s HARDtalk show hosted by Stephen Sackur.
During the interview, the DP got into a heated argument with the host when pressed to reveal his net worth.
“Why have you not followed the President’s instruction in what he calls a lifestyle audit to actually go public with all your wealth and assets, itemise all of it and show it to the Kenyan public. You haven’t done it, have you?” posed Sackur.
“For the record, I’m the only politician in Kenya who has been subjected to a lifestyle audit. No other politician has.
“The audit was done by the media. It is in public domain. In fact, what has happened is that there is … at the moment, we are all working on getting a legal framework where a lifestyle audit can be conducted on every public servant, starting from the president,” responded the DP.
READ MORE
Ruto promises to make helicopter crash report public to allay fears
General Ogolla's son Joel Rabuku defends father's relationship with Ruto
Inside Ruto's ambitious scheme to contain runaway wage bill by 2027
Gachagua and poisoned chalice that is Kenya's vice-presidency
Using his own words against him, Sackur asked Ruto to state the exact figure since the DP had earlier claimed that the information is in public domain.
However, the DP was not forthcoming and instead accused Sackur of not doing his homework.
“This has nothing to do with the media. This is a form that all public officials are supposed to file, giving all of their assets and their sources. I would like to see it,” said Sackur.
“It is in public domain. I encourage you to Google and find out what William Ruto owns” responded Ruto.
“Will you or will you not tell me, given that you’ve been completely open and public with it and that every Kenyan knows this figure, according to you. Share it with me,” prodded Sackur.
“You should have done some research before you came. I encourage you, Sackur, to go to the website on Parliament and get that information. I am prepared to tell you where to find the information, Sackur,” responded the DP, evading the question.
Weston Hotel
The DP also admitted that the land on which the controversial Weston Hotel linked to him sits on was acquired illegally.
However, according to Ruto, he “innocently” bought the land from its original owners, who had “illegally” obtained it.
“For the record, the National Land Commission has made a finding that Weston was an innocent purchaser for value from somebody who got it illegally, and preparations have been made constitutionally to restore that land to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority by demanding that those who sold the land to us must pay,” said Ruto.
