Rowdy Crowd Forces Deputy President William Ruto To Cut Short His Speech in Mombasa

Deputy President (DP) William Ruto was on Friday forced to cut short his speech at a campaign rally at Caltex grounds in Likoni, Mombasa County.

The DP, while on a campaign trail in the Coastal region, ran into a hostile crowd demanding that he should address the high maize flour prices.

The crowd kept chanting "unga (flour)" forcing the Deputy President to cut short his address and delve into the issue that has caused heated exchanges across the nation.

Ruto blamed the county governments for the food shortage that has hit the nation, stating that agriculture is a devolved function.

"However, they (counties) have failed and we have been forced, as the national government, to continue supporting agriculture by offering subsidised seeds and fertilisers to farmers," he said.

He also used the opportunity to reinstate the government's hard stand on drug trade at the Coast, popularly referred to as "unga".

"Mambo ya hiyo unga ingine haina nafasi kwa Kenya hii. Wale matapeli wanadhani watauza unga kwa vijana wetu, chuma chao kimotoni (the sale of drugs has no place in Kenya. Those dealers who think they will sell drugs to our youth should be warned)," he declared.

The Coast is perceived to be an Opposition stronghold with Jubilee keen on making inroads in the region.

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