Deputy President William Ruto has warned that any members of his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) found guilty of perpetrating the attacks meted on former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Friday, April 1, by rowdy youths in Uasin Gishu will be denied the party ticket.
Addressing the press on Saturday, April 2, at his Karen office, the Deputy President stated that any UDA candidate who will be found to have participated in the planning, funding or execution of the violence will be punished by the party in accordance with its rules.
The punishment, according to Ruto, may include expulsion from the party. The DP stated that violence and discrimination are not what the party stands for, calling on his supporters to exercise political tolerance.
Castigating the incident that saw Raila's chopper and vehicles pelted with stones, Ruto asked his party officials to work with the police in ensuring that justice is served.
"UDA and all our Kenya Kwanza partners are believers in a peaceful, progressive Kenya. I have given very clear instructions to our members which I want to reiterate today, that all members of UDA must never engage in any acts of violence," Ruto stated.
"I have instructed the party to work with the police so that we can get to the root of what happened yesterday in Eldoret and if any of our party candidates were involved, we are going to take disciplinary action against them for the violence that was meted against the Hon. Raila Odinga."
DP Ruto stated that all aspirants must be given the space to sell their agenda to all Kenyans and in any region. He added that any UDA candidate involved in violence of any manner will be expelled from the party.
The Deputy President noted that the August election should be built around ideas and the vision of moving the country forward.
Ruto also offered an apology to Raila Odinga as he noted that the attack on the ODM leader was uncalled for and unfortunate.
"I also take this opportunity to apologize to the Honourable Raila Odinga. I hope those who engaged in this regret what they did. We will get to the root of this act which is most unfortunate and we will demonstrate our commitment to an election that is peaceful," he stated.
Police stated that they had arrested 14 suspects so far in connection with the violence.
Raila Odinga is accusing some high-ranking members of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in North Rift of masterminding the attack meted on him.
In a statement, Raila divulged that prior to the attack on his chopper hired goons pelted at his motorcade with stones. He declared that he has information on those who were behind the ugly incident.
“For today’s unfortunate events, I hold Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandagor and Soy MP Caleb Kositany, responsible,” Raila stated.
