Deputy President William Ruto has said Raila Odinga and the One Kenya Alliance principals are afraid to face him without uniting ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Speaking during his tour of Western Kenya on October 22, Ruto expressed confidence that he is able to defeat Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, and Kalozo Musyoka with or without forming a coalition.
The deputy president called out his opponents for looking for an endorsement from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“My competitors must wake up to the reality that I am their competitor, President Uhuru Kenyatta is not. They should stop wasting Uhuru’s time,” he said.
Ruto further challenged his opponents to settle on one presidential candidate and make their manifesto public like him.
“They should organise themselves. Have their candidate if they can agree, have a party like our United Democratic Alliance. Have a plan like our bottom-up and they should stop criticising our 2022 campaign promises,” said the DP.
Ruto criticised his opponents for holding closed-door meetings with people whom the term as elections strategists, daring them to contest for the presidency without coalitions.
“They should leave the hotels, boardrooms and come to meet me in the field with voters. Among all these men, no one is ready to face me eye to eye? The only way they can have a contest with me is if they unite,” he added.
In a past address, Ruto criticised Raila Odinga and the One Kenya Alliance principals for holding a meeting with the Mount Kenya Foundation members.
The DP said he would rather seek a mandate from the voters than to meet the Mt Kenya businessmen.
“Unlike other presidential candidates, I will not go for an interview in Nairobi hotels. I will be interviewed by the common wananchi,” the deputy president said.
