RUTO; I AM GOING NOWHERE!

President William Ruto has slammed ‘Ruto must go' chants terming them as a reincarnation of political slogans from one Kenyan President to the other.

During the burial service of George Oduor, Raila Odinga's longtime bodyguard, in Siaya County, President Ruto said such chants were neither new nor problematic to him.

“Sasa nyinyi mnaniambia Ruto must go, mimi nimeskia hiyo mara mingi. Kulikuwa na 'Moi must go' na mengine…hii 'must go' ni wimbo tu ya kawaida, there is no problem. Shida iko wapi?” He asked.

Ruto further expressed his concerns on the nicknames assigned to him stating that they do not trouble him since he is on a mission to develop the nation.

“Mara wananiita Zakayo, mara Kasongo, mara nini…I am not bothered. I am focused: we must get our education right; we must get our electrification right; we must get our infrastructure right; and we must handle devolution properly, so that we can all move the country forward. And I welcome any assistance so that we can make Kenya great; that is my mission and commitment,” he added.

The President also used the platform to recall of him personally benefitting from the security services of George Oduor while he was a member of the ODM party.

“I came to know George as a member of ODM then, and we were in many places together. Somebody said here that I benefitted also from his security services, and that is true. Whenever we went to situations as members of ODM, George was on hand,” Ruto highlighted.

He further tributed to honour the deceased by pledging 20 million to renovate Ramba High School, which provided the venue for the burial mass, this was a plea from the area MP, Otiende Amollo.

“In honour of George, huyu mbunge wenu Otiende Amollo amesema tusaidie kujenga hii shule and I am committing Ksh.20 million in order to elevate this school in honour of this great man. Otiende Amollo utafuatana na mimi, next week nitakuandikia cheque ya kuendesha hii shule,” Ruto promised.

The head of state also commended Raila Odinga, giving a chronicle of their past relationships, first as ODM team members, then competitors and finally, Raila an anchor of his administration.

“I have come a very long way with Raila Odinga. I want to stand here today and say that the man I stood by, and gave my all at a moment in my life, we would eventually become competitors, and that he would eventually come and anchor my leadership. Prime Minister, I want to tell you I am truly grateful, that just the way I stood with you when you needed a man to stand with you, you have equally come to stand with me when I needed a man to stand with me,” Ruto said emotionally.

“Because of our coming together, because of forging this relationship, that has stabilized the country and created inclusivity, and eliminated the things that divide us and the negative ethnicity that threatens our country, today we can proudly say our economy is stable. The dollar which was at Ksh.160 is now at ksh.129. Inflation which was at 9.6% is now at 3.5%, because we have come together and we are working together," he added lauding Raila's role in economic transformation.

Ruto continued praising Raila of always being selfless and standing for the interest of the country , adding that history would fairly reward him.

“I want to say this, for the avoidance of any doubt, that when Baba (Odinga) here came to stand with me, it was not about him or his interests or parochial interests, it was about the greater interests of Kenya, and history is going to judge Raila Odinga fairly; that whenever there is an opportunity to stand for the nation, he has always stood for the nation. I am very proud that our paths crossed and we have come this journey together,” he furthered.