Embattled Deputy President William Ruto has said that he is prepared to exit the ruling Jubilee Party for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) as his vehicle of choice in the 2022 presidential contest if circumstances necessitate.
Citing what he said as continued persecution of his allies, DP Ruto said that if his continued stay at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party becomes untenable, he will be compelled to shop for an alternative platform.
“Because you cannot wait until you hit a wall for you to come up with a solution. And just like we came up with URP after being chased away by ODM and teamed up with Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA, going forward if there is no agreement within the rank and file of the Jubilee party, we will have UDA as our political vehicle for 2022,” Ruto said during a live interview with Radio Citizen on Thursday morning, March 25.
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Ruto has let his allies run the UDA vehicle and avoided campaign trails for the just-concluded by-elections in Kabuchai, Matungu and Machakos.
But on Thursday, Ruto came out in support of the party, a rebrand of Jubilee affiliate, Party for Development and Reforms (PDR), one he said will be the next big thing as Kenya heads towards the next elections.
“We have built UDA and we have done a fantastic job with Jubilee Party and even drove the government agenda together, we will not claim that we will be starting afresh, never, we will only continuing the journey,” he said, adding it is not possible to find a national solution to national problems using a tribal vehicle.
He defended his association and that of his allies, claiming that UDA is one of the rooms in Jubilee party House, just like Kanu.
President Kenyatta’s allies in Jubilee have accused Ruto and his team of sabotage and faulted his links to UDA, calling for him to resign and seek a fresh mandate in the new UDA party.
“If you ask me, whether I am in Jubilee or UDA it’s an attempt of trying to divide us because UDA and Jubilee are one because of the coalition agreement,” he said.
Ruto, whose fate as Jubilee Party deputy leader hangs in the balance said, going forward, those evicting him and his allies from the party because of their own selfish interests and hypocrisy will the ‘once vibrant party” as a shell.
“Already they have kicked out many of my allies from the party positions and dethroned them from plum jobs at Parliament. They only call meetings for destruction, either to kick them out of their positions or institute disciplinary proceedings,” the DP decried.
Adding that: "There has been never been a meeting to discuss how to run the party or deliberate on how far we have reached in implementing the party’s manifesto in government or bringing Kenyans together. It is a juvenile discussion of who is to be evicted next."
UDA, a rebrand of PDR, has five elected leaders in Parliament led by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Fatuma Dullo, who is also the Isiolo senator as well as Wajir Woman Rep Fatuma Gedi, Tarbaj’s Ahmed Bashane, Mark Lomunokol of Kacheliba and Ijara’s Sophia Abdi.
Arguing that his vision for a national party is still intact, Dr. Ruto said just as they had hoped Jubilee will be the ruling party that was truly national, it is possible to build a similar outfit using the same strategy.
Arguing that the President’s men are flexing their muscles on him and his associates and wanting to reduce Jubilee to a regional party, Ruto said that he will run UDA as a national outfit.
“Just like we built Jubilee party to be a national party with a national outlook, we will use the same experience and expertise to build UDA to be a national movement,” he said.
Ruto compared people who are behind the attempts to kick him out from the helm of Jubilee with Sanballat and Tobiah in the Bible who opposed and criticized Nehemiah’s for rebuilding Jerusalem's wall.
The self-proclaimed hustler said that the same trend is being applied in current politics, where there are people who are not pleased with “hustler empowerment initiatives” and are out to scuttle his bid to change the lives of Kenyans.
“We have gossipers who are not using most of their time to think on things that will help the country to develop…even in the Bible when Nehemiah was constructing the wall of Jerusalem, there was a man called Tobiah who criticized their work, saying that the wall being constructed couldn't sustain the weight of a small fox,” Ruto narrated.
“We have Tobiahs in this politics as well, who are just saying stop doing this, chase this one, do this…let us kick this one out first,” he said.
Despite losing in key by-elections, Ruto said fielding candidates in all mini-polls is UDA's strategy a national outfit.
He dismissed as premature the celebrations that UDA lost in Kabuchai, Matungu and Machakos by-elections.
“For instance, in Kabuchai constituency, we were competing with Ford Kenya, which is a tribal party with no capacity to field in Matungu, Machakos or Bonchari,” said Ruto.
