NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 4 — United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential flag bearer William Ruto has named four senior security officials as individuals behind a scheme to intimidate voters and stir chaos in Rift Valley.
The Deputy President, while addressing the media on Thursday, went further to claim that President Uhuru Kenyatta was well aware of the scheme orchestrated by the said officials.
“Having realized they can’t win this election, they want to disrupt this election. They want to cause conflict and that’s why we are calling state agencies and the international community to speak to this matter,” Ruto said.
He named Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, County Commissioners Samson Ojwang (Trans Nzoia), Steven Kihara (Uasin Gishu) and Erastus Mbui (Nakuru).
“The president of Kenya is aware and we are asking him in his constitutional duty to ensure that the country is safe and to stop this people from planning the evil they are planning,” Ruto stated.
The UDA candidate restated his earlier position that chiefs are being used to bungle the elections with the sole aim to suppress voter turnout by issuing threatening leaflets targeting the electorate in certain regions.
The DP stated that he had received reports from some chief and other national government officers who were being forced out of their will to interfere with the polls, with threats of sackings.
“Chiefs and County commissioners are being forced with threats and blackmail of losing of their jobs if they don’t become Azimio operatives,” said Ruto.
On Tuesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi described the claims by Deputy President and his allies that the chiefs were being used by the State to bungle the elections as “ridiculous”.
Matiangi who has openly backed Ruto’s chief opponent, Azimio’s Raila Odinga, said his meetings with grass root administration officials were purely because “they are colleagues”.
“We meet chiefs all the time, that is the job we do, that is who we are supposed to work with,” he said.
Ruto however scoffed at the explanation questioning why similar meetings were not held ahead of the 2017 General Election.
“This two gentleman must know their shortage of fools in Kenya. Whatever they are telling this chiefs, the chief are telling everybody else. The chiefs are complaining they are being forced to sabotage election through bribery,” the UDA flag bearer stated.
Matiangi spoke after a meeting with senior security officials drawn from the Rift Valley region in Molo where he revealed plans to scale up the presence of the dreaded anti-riot GSU police in the region where Ruto’s enjoys significant support.
He reported the arrest of eight individuals linked to inciteful leaflets circulated in Eldoret without commenting on the status of an investigation into the matter or the likelihood of pressing charges.
“Even the claims that you heard yesterday that the leaflets were authored by people from the Office of the President, now we have eight suspects in police custody and none of them is an employee of the office of the President,” he said.
