Deputy President William Ruto has pointed out what seemingly appears to be his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta's failures.
In an interview with KTN News anchor Sophia Wanuna - on Thursday, June 24 - the DP spoke on a number of issues he believed he would have done better had he been the President.
Ruto insisted that he would have solved the row between the Executive and the Judiciary by appointing the six judges Uhuru rejected. These are Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule, Evans Kiago and Judith Omange.
"I would have appointed all of them. I think the people who are better versed in matters law and constitution - the former Chief Justices Willy Mutunga and David Maraga – have said clearly that the right thing that should have happened was for all judges to be appointed and subsequently.
"If there are integrity issues on any judge, then the normal process that involves a tribunal, and those judges being subjected to due process, should have been followed," Ruto took a swipe at Uhuru.
He added that the President was visibly disrespecting the Constitution. Ruto argued that obeying the law was paramount despite the office one held.
"If we are to remain a sane, democratic country, we cannot afford not to respect court orders and the Constitution," the DP stated.
He also cautioned the President against implementing the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in case the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court decision that declared the initiative null and void.
The DP stated that in as much as he had no issues with an expanded executive, our (Kenya) problem is not tribalism but leadership. Uhuru stated that the BBI would unite leaders and enhance peace and posterity after elections.
Ruto insisted that he read the BBI cover to cover and there was nothing that would prevent people from contesting election results and swearing themselves in.
The DP lamented that Uhuru was bowing down to foreign pressure and demands and subjecting Kenya to loans. He argued that he would not have adhered to stringent guidelines set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before it issued the government Ksh255 billion loan.
"I would not fire people; I would not do what the IMF is recommending to us as this would crash the economy and have a spiral effect later. I would cut down development into two. I would invest Ksh200 billion in brick & mortar and Ksh200 billion in stimulus and production," he shared his ideas.
He also castigated COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli for suggesting that the 2022 General Election should be postponed until the BBI is implemented. The DP accused Atwoli of propagating impunity and insisted that the elections would go on as planned.
On his broken relationship with Uhuru, the DP stated that "If there is one person who knows what worked and what didn’t, it is me. I, painstakingly, with millions of other people, assembled this government.
"It would be the biggest act of betrayal if I was to walk away from eight million Kenyans who voted for us."
