Deputy President, William Ruto, now claims that President Uhuru Kenyatta turned down efforts to end the bad blood between them.
Speaking to KTN News on Thursday, July 7, the second in command insinuated that he extended an olive branch to his boss who blatantly shot it down even with the intervention of religious leaders.
Ruto - who is seeking the country's top office - explained that religious leaders took up the matter but Uhuru shot down their reconciliation requests.
"Bishops talk to me. They talk to the President too. When they came to me, I told them I want to have a chat with my boss. He flatly refused," Ruto stated during a Nairobi town hall meeting.
Admitting that the bad blood between them was getting out of hand, the Kenya Kwanza alliance leader asserted that his boss has allegedly been humiliating him.
"It is really unfortunate, and I regret the rivalry has gone this way. I have been a very patient person, the kind of humiliation I have been subjected to by my boss, nobody could have taken it. If it was Raila Odinga or Martha Karua, they could have done dreadful things already," Ruto lamented.
However, the Deputy President made it clear that before the fallout, he had confronted his boss seeking clarification on accusations of insulting him, adding that Uhuru confirmed that he was never disrespected.
"In fact, I have heard a discussion with him and have asked him directly that I hear there is this story that I have insulted you, can you produce one clip either from intelligence, or whether it was at night or a private meeting where I said something against you. And he said it is not there because I am a very careful person."
Further, the former Eldoret North Member of Parliament downplayed allegations that he wanted to slap Uhuru, noting that the audio clip was taken out of context.
"Nobody can slap the President, surely. That was a figure of speech. The point was, the President was almost giving up. I told him, my friend, you are not about to do anything silly like that. That’s what a genuine friend is all about.
"When your friend is about to give up, you must be there to support, encourage, and tell them not to make the wrong decisions. In fact, many Kenyans have even quoted the Bible, in Proverbs 27:6, which says ‘a slap from a friend is better than a kiss from an enemy."
Ruto is poised to battle it out with Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, who has the full support of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
