Winnie Odinga, the daughter of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Raila Odinga, has responded to claims by Deputy President, William Ruto, that her father is a stingy man.
In a statement dated Wednesday, December 15, Winnie faulted the allegations made by the DP painting a selfish picture of the former Premier who was unwilling to help Kenyans at their hour of need.
On Tuesday, December 14, Ruto - while hosting a section of religious leaders at his Karen home - termed Raila as a selfish man who only cared about himself, noting that his government would include the church in governance.
The country's second in command noted that the ODM leader gave church fundraisers a wide berth, and kept his distance when Kenyans called on him to bail them out.
"Our friend who we are competing with never attends fundraisers for churches, schools and women groups. Even an offering in the church itself is a problem," the DP stated.
Winnie countered the remarks by the Deputy President terming his donations to the church as nothing but a Public Relations (PR) stunt done to woo members of the public.
She also defended her father, noting that unlike Ruto, the handshake partner gave from the heart, which was more important.
"Not all donations are PR stunts. Give with your heart or not at all. The world doesn’t have to know," she noted.
The DP has been on a money splashing spree in form of donations to churches, boda boda, youth and women groups as he popularises his bottom-up economic model.
His donations have attracted questions from his political opponents including the ODM leader who challenged him to make public the source of the moneys.
Politicians allied to Raila have made claims that the money the DP uses during his rallies are proceeds of graft, with the former vowing to deal with leaders involved in the vice once he ascends to power in 2022.
The DP has, however, insisted that the claims are unfounded and based on political theatrics.
