ODM leader Raila Odinga has pointed an accusing finger at Deputy President William Ruto saying he angered Kondele youths who caused violence.
On Wednesday, November 10, William Ruto’s Nyanza tour was marred by violence after angered Kondele youths hurled stones at his motorcade in Kondele, Kisumu County forcing him to cut short his speech.
While condemning the incident, William Ruto accused the opposition leader Raila Odinga of staging the youths to throw stones at his motorcade.
“The leader of ODM should stop using innocent youth to throw stones at other leaders because we have matured as a democracy,” he said, “if it is stone-throwing, let them (politicians) be on the frontline with their children.”
But in an interview with a local radio station on Thursday, November 11, the presidential hopeful said he had never incited young people in his turf to stone his perceived main rival William Ruto.
Raila who is considered to be President Uhuru Kenyatta’s secret choice said Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto might have sparked outrageous remarks.
“If you yourself utter a speech that makes the crowd angry, this may make some people react and take action in unsavoury ways,
“I however don’t see a problem here since we have come from a different level of democracy to another. Democracy is continuing to thrive in our country,” Raila Odinga said in an interview with Musyi FM.
Earlier on, Raila Odinga dismissed accusations that he sponsored the Kondele violence arguing that he is too big to organize violence against someone as small as the former Eldoret North MP.
With barely months to the 2022 General Election, Raila urged politicians to refrain from verbal sparks that could provoke violence.
Leaders from across political divides including Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi and KANU’s Gideon Moi have since condemned the chaos calling for thorough investigations and prosecutions of culprits.
