Deputy President William Ruto called out The Standard newspaper on November 23, over a story he believed was fake.
The media house had published a story titled "BBI Sets up Ruto Clash with Uhuru and Raila" which alleged that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report would pit the DP against President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
"The stage has been set for a major political clash between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga on the one side, and Deputy President William Ruto on the other side as the BBI taskforce hands over its report on Tuesday (November 26)," the article read.
Ruto termed the publication's headline as fake news and sought clarification from the daily on when and where he had made utterances indicating that he was spoiling for a fight.
"Usual The Standard gutter fake news. Where did WSR utter such nonsense? Kenyans should look forward to a robust, truthful national conversation to chart a unified way forward. Meanwhile, ignore Standard's garbage," a tweet by the DP read.
He argued that the newspaper did not depict what he actually said. In a twitter post, the DP reiterated that he was open to the concept but called for a cautious approach.
According to the publication, the two Jubilee leaders had made contradicting remarks about the highly anticipated document.
Uhuru attended the fourth graduation ceremony of Kibabii University, Bungoma County where he urged leaders to read the report before supporting or rejecting it and cautioned politicians not to use it to divide Kenyans.
“My only prayer, especially to the political class, is that this is an opportunity to engage in meaningful and peaceful discourse. We don’t want to divide the country,” he stated.
On the same day, DP Ruto graced a thanksgiving ceremony held by Jubilee Party's McDonald Mariga at the Bomas of Kenya and according to The Standard, he made remarks about the BBI report.
“Kenyans are not fools to just accept conmanship hidden in BBI which they are using as a political tool for 2022,” the DP was quoted by the newspaper.
