President Uhuru Kenyatta has defended Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party presidential flagbearer, Raila Odinga, over attacks on his age by his opponents.
Speaking in Nakuru where he officially opened the 1,000-acre Naivasha Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Tuesday, July 26, Uhuru stated that age was the least determining factor in his succession battle.
He added that Kenya did not need a president to run marathons but to make sound decisions for millions of citizens.
"Age is not a disease. Kenyans are not looking for a person to go and run a marathon on their behalf, we already have Kipchoge (Eliud) for that.
"We want a leader who is of sound mind, has wisdom, humble, loves the people and has the ability to unite Kenyans and bring them to work together," Uhuru stated.
Uhuru, who maintained that he was not campaigning for any candidate, asked the people to rally behind 'the old man who was going around the country asking for votes.'
The Head of State indirectly threw jabs at his deputy, William Ruto, accusing him of being pretentious and continuously lying to the electorate.
"Imagine, a whole leader telling Kenyans that the port was moved from Kilindini to Naivasha. Do I look like I have the powers to carry the ocean from Mombasa?
"Both the people of Naivasha and Mombasa have benefited from the project. Or does it mean that the communities living here have no right to have their lives improved?" he wondered.
Ruto's allies have been hitting out at Raila particularly on his decision not to attend the presidential debate, claiming that he would not last the entire one and a half hours.
They further claimed that because of his age, his running mate - Martha Karua - would be controlling the government operations alleging that Raila would be incapacitated.
Speaking during the launch of the Mombasa Cancer Centre in March 2022, Uhuru drew parallels between the presidential race and a marathon stating that he who runs first may not always win the race.
