DP William Ruto experienced a difficult time on Wednesday during his tour in Kisumu on Wednesday, especially at Kondele.
Chaos erupted while he was addressing a crowd at Kondele forcing him to cut short his speech as youths hurled stones at him.
Speaking about the incident, ODM leader Raila Odinga has distanced himself and his party from the chaos.
“Mimi sitaki kuingia kwa mambo ya porojo, labda niongee kwa mwambo ya ukweli, Ruto ni Mkenya na anaruhusiwa kutembea popote kuuza sera zake. (I don’t want to be part of gossip, maybe I speak the truth, Ruto is a Kenyan and is allowed to sell his agenda anywhere),” Raila said in an interview with a local radio station.
According to the former prime minister, ODM’s Kisumu branch had issued a statement saying that DP Ruto was free to campaign in Kisumu.
“Our branch in Kisumu released a statement saying that Ruto should be allowed to campaign just like anybody else, and there should not be any chaos,” Raila noted.
Odinga further said neither him nor his party had intentions towards Ruto’s rally, including those who chose to attend.
“Mimi sio mtoto mdogo niende kuorganize watu warushie Ruto mawe, kwa sababu gani? Ruto ni kitu kidogo sana kwangu. (Am not a child to organize people to hurl stones at Ruto, for what reason? Ruto is a small thing to me),” the ODM leader remarked.
“Yeye anaweza kwenda Kisumu kila mahali vile anavyo tanga tanga kila mahali akipiga .. anabweka hapa na pale, ni haki yake, ni binadamu, apige kifua yake, akohoe, ateme mate, hio ni sawa kabisa, hio ndio mambo ya siasa ya nchi yetu(He can go to Kisumu, anywhere as he loiters, barks here and there, it is his right, he is human, if he brags, cough, spit, it very much okay, that is how our country’s politics is), ” he added.
Raila recounted how his own tour at DP Ruto’s backyard went on peacefully without a hitch.
He further mentioned a number of things that could have led to the chaos including disagreement over handouts.
During the rally in Kisumu, the deputy president claimed that the youths had been hired by some politicians to disrupt his rally.
“Kisumu is Kenya, and we will ensure that we save Kisumu from the stone throwing culture. We must get rid of the leaders who hire young people to throw stones,” Ruto said.
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