Go to parliament, not streets to eject IEBC commissioners, Ruto tells Raila

Deputy President William Ruto on Friday accused Cord leaders of plotting to destabilise the country by calling for violent ejection of IEBC commissioners from office.

Mr Ruto told Cord leaders to stop wasting time by organizing demonstrations meant to promote tribal animosity and instead follow the law by presenting a petition to Parliament to discuss the matter.

He said Jubilee was not protecting the IEBC commissioners but wanted the Opposition to respect the Constitution.

“The Cord leadership has demonstrated lack of maturity by asking their supporters to storm IEBC offices next week and eject the officials. The sensible thing for them to do is to prepare a petition and present it to parliament for debate instead of scheming to organise chaos,” said Mr Ruto.

The DP who spoke in Kakamega on Friday evening asked residents of western region to ditch Cord and back Jubilee in next year’s polls.

He said disagreements over who should be the Cord flag bearer next year was a clear indication that the Opposition was headed for trouble.

Mr Ruto was presiding over the ground breaking ceremony for Kivaywa Technical Training Institute in Lugari constituency.

The institute will be constructed at cost of Sh50 million and another Sh50 million spent on equipping it.

He said Jubilee had initiated development projects in western including revival of sugar factories and equipping of hospitals in the last three years.

The DP said President Uhuru Kenyatta and himself will be headed to Kakamega County in the next two weeks to initiate development projects to benefit residents of the region.

Mr Ruto said the government had provided modern medical equipment and renovated the Kakamega County General Hospital at a cost of Sh725 million.

“I’m appealing to residents of western not to gamble by supporting Cord leaders who do not have any clear development agenda for the region,” said Mr Ruto.

The DP was accompanied by MPs Ayub Savula (Lugari), Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo) and David Were (Matungu).

He said the government had supplied medical equipment worth Sh380 million to the Malava District hospital and another Sh380 million to the Webuye District Hospital in Bungoma County and renovated the facilities to improve access to medical care.