Deputy President William Ruto, has refuted claims that he will reintroduce the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) through the Kenya Kwanza deal amid criticism from Azimio One Kenya leaders.
Speaking during a political rally in Nairobi on Friday, May 13, Ruto dared his counterparts in Azimio to make their power-sharing deal public, alleging that theirs was shrouded in mystery, secrecy and mistrust, citing the decamping of Machakos governor, Alfred Mutua, and his Kilifi counter, Amason Kingi.
He added that he was transparent in the deal and no one in the coalition was being duped as alleged by his rivals.
"You are talking about the Kenya Kwanza deal all day long. Where is yours? We know that yours is written at night and cannot be even accessed by those who wrote it. The difference between our teams in clear as night and day.
"You wanted to use Ksh50 billion to change the constitution while we will use it to improve our economy," he stated.
Ruto has come under sharp criticism in the last few days, with a section of leaders especially from the opposition accusing him of copying some elements of the BBI in the deal, yet he opposed the document that resulted from President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga's handshake.
In particular, the proposal to introduce the position of Prime Cabinet Secretary has been viewed as a way of creating the Prime Minister's position as proposed in the BBI.
Additionally, the DP addressed cracks within the coalition, assuring the people of Mount Kenya that they will be properly represented in his government.
The Kenya Kwanza presidential aspirant stated that the vote-rich region would be allocated more resources by his government.
"We will even implement the one man one shilling without changing the Constitution," he added.
This was after former Kiambu governor and Tujibebe Wakenya party leader, William Kabogo, lamented over the deal even as he demanded an explanation from Ruto on what Mount Kenya would get from his government. At the time, he threatened to quit the coalition if his demands were not met.
"I have called him and challenged him to explain why they are sharing seats and the agreement has no mention of the interests of the Mount Kenya region. If he does not correct that, I will leave since the election is yet to be held - let him know it's still early and people can change their minds," he stated
