Ruto: Uhuru failed in office, now backs ‘puppets’ against me in 2027

President William Ruto has launched fresh political attacks against former President Uhuru Kenyatta for allegedly bankrolling the opposition to compete against him in the 2027 General Election after what the Head of State said was a failure to deliver during his tenure in power.

Dr Ruto claimed Mr Kenyatta was sponsoring political “puppets” against him despite having supported him to power during his two terms in office and challenged his political rivals to present their track records, agenda and manifesto to the electorate.

While addressing his supporters at various stops in Eldoret city after presiding over a KDF passing-out parade at the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Recruit Training School (RTS), Dr Ruto, while alluding to Mr Kenyatta, said he had failed to perform and was now propping up the opposition against him in 2027.

“You know their (opposition) sponsor and how I assisted him while in office, but he could not deliver on affordable housing, universal healthcare and education funding for our children. Now he is sponsoring his political puppets against me, but I will trounce them by a landslide margin,” said Dr Ruto, while dismissing the opposition as disjointed and having nothing to offer Kenyans.

He claimed that the former president was out to water down his successful development projects across the country and urged the electorate to be cautious when casting their votes in the 2027 General Election.

President Kenyatta backed former prime minister Raila Odinga in the 2022 General Election against his then deputy, Dr Ruto, who won by a slim margin of 200,000 votes.

Now, Mr Kenyatta, as the chairman of the Azimio Coalition, has revived the Mr Odinga 2022 vehicle with Mr Kalonzo Musyoka as the new party leader, with plans for a joint coalition in the 2027 poll against Dr Ruto.

“Some people have been singing Kasongo one term, but I want to tell them that they should prepare for a titanic political battle. They should ask their sponsor how I assisted him but ended up failing to deliver,” said Dr Ruto, who disclosed that he was on a political whirlwind to consolidate Western Kenya votes.

He is expected to tour Bungoma County today (Friday) to inspect development projects and interact with the electorate.

He said the 2027 General Election will put an end to tribal politics, hatred and marginalisation and assured Kenyans of free, fair and peaceful polls.

“We are going to have a peaceful election, and we will put an end to this politics of ethnicity and divisions once and for all,” President Ruto told the gathering.

“Kenya belongs to all of us, not a few political dynasties who think they can use money to manipulate the destiny of this country,” he added.

While expressing confidence in winning against the opposition, President Ruto asked the electorate to judge leaders by their track record while cautioning against political bickering, tribalism, incitement and hatred during the electioneering period.

“What agendas do these opposition [leaders] have for you? They have no manifesto, plan or policies, and that is why we accuse them, and they should be ready for defeat. They cannot match me,” said Dr Ruto.

He defended his track record, claiming that he had introduced myriad reforms in agriculture, where Kenya is now the leading producer of milk in Africa, while Kenyans can access quality healthcare through the Social Health Authority (SHA) and quality education.

“My administration has done a lot in job creation through the affordable housing programme, where many youths have been employed and Kenyans can afford decent housing. More than 32 million Kenyans have registered with SHA, while over Sh178 billion in hospital bills have been cleared under the scheme and eight million Kenyans have been treated under the SHA policy,” said Dr Ruto.

He defended the new university funding model, noting that it will enhance equality and empower all children to access higher and tertiary education from various institutions across the country.

Dr Ruto disclosed that his administration has pumped Sh37 billion into affordable housing, the construction of modern markets and hostels in Uasin Gishu County.

The Head of State said some Sh20 billion had been allocated for the construction of the new referral hospital and Sh8 billion for road infrastructure, and asked voters to judge him according to his development record.

“I’m not tribal; that is why I have started projects here in the Rift Valley and I’m doing the same in Central, Nyanza, North Eastern and Coast, among other parts of the country,” said Dr Ruto.

Other leaders, including Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim and Senator Jackson Mandago, expressed confidence that President Ruto will win the 2027 General Election by a landslide.

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