The Presidential Debate kicked off at the Catholic University with Deputy President William Ruto having a sole session after Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga skipped the session.
The second session was reserved for Raila and Ruto - the only candidates who have scored more than 5 per cent in recent opinion polls.
However, Raila dropped out of the process - citing poor moderation and the alleged low credibility of his opponent.
Kenyans.co.ke will offer you the key moments in the debate as follows:
Babu Owino Attempt to Represent Raila
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was blocked from accessing the Presidential debate venue hosted at Catholic University.
Azimio Secretary General Junet Mohamed had indicated that Owino would represent Raila at the debate sought after the former Prime Minister opted out of the event.
However, his convoy, which arrived after the debate had started was blocked by the security team manning the gate.
Galana Kulalu
The DP was put on the spot over his record in guaranteeing food security - particularly in the collapse of the Galana Kulalu project in the first term of the Jubilee government.
The UDA presidential candidate admitted the collapse but claimed that the project failed due to the government’s failure to build dams in the areas.
"The Galana Kulalu was conceived and the pilot on the first 10,000 tonnes programme took place. The first harvest came into being. The recommendation from the trial was that we needed to build a dam because research showed that the soil could support the production of maize and other cereals. Unfortunately, it did not move forward because we did not get the dam sorted," he stated.
Blaming the Handshake
The DP had started his remarks with reference to the high cost of living that Kenyans face ahead of the election.
Ruto argued that the crisis had emerged due to the neglect of the Big Four Agenda after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s handshake with Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
"I tried to push the Big Four Agenda to a point my boss told me he wanted to do things differently. He requested that he wanted to assemble a different group of what he wanted to be his legacy. Unfortunately, the Big Four suffered a big blow because the whole of the programme did not take place"
National Debt
DP Ruto was also questioned regarding his stance on the ballooning national debt in the country. Noting that the country was living beyond its means, he promised to expand the tax base.
He noted that Uhuru Gardens museum, whose Ksh15 billion was not budgeted for, formed part of the Ksh100 billion spent on project that did not have a planned budget
"I still believe that it is reckless for anybody to say we cannot pay our debts. I believe we have what it takes to pay our debts. What we cannot entertain as a country is that we are in a position we can't service our debt and we need to renegotiate.
"What I would do, we will first slowdown on borrowing, slow unbudgeted projects which is the biggest source of our problems, we need to raise our revenues and we have areas we can raise our revenue. We collect 52 per cent of all collectable VAT, we can raise 95% which will give us an extra Ksh450 billion. there is room to raise additional revenue. Our debt today is a challenge and we need to deal with it. We are living beyond our means," he explained.
Secret SGR Contract
The question of Kenya’s public debt extended to the contracts that the governments had negotiated for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
The DP was asked why the contracts were yet to be made public - nearly eight years after they were signed.
Ruto admitted that the loan agreement should have been made public but probed on why he had not publicly pushed for the same - he indicated that he had opted to privately advise the President to make them public.
"Those contracts and agreements, in accordance with the Constitution are public documents which Kenyans have a right to access. As Deputy President, there is so much that you can do. My oath of office has four functions. I swear allegiance to the people, to discharge responsibility, to advise the President and to serve people equally and fairly.
"I have made my position in regard to the contracts very well known to the right offices. It is not a matter I would have wanted to take public for purposes of making the government functional.
No Money Lost in Arror and Kimwarer
The Deputy President sensationally claimed that the Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal was fictitiously created to hurt him politically.
The DP made the claims while responding to the question of insecurity in the Kerio Valley - arguing that the government had withdrawn police reservists fearing that the locals would be used as militia to further his political cause.
He reiterated his earlier claim that no money was lost in the Arror and Kimwarer Dam scandal - but claimed that if the government did not continue with the project - Ksh19 billion of taxpayers would be lost.
“Withdrawal of police reservists in the Kerio Valley was to punish me as such many lives have been lost. It wasn't about me. I only mobilised resources while in government. Not only that but Arrow and Kimwarer dams were cancelled to punish my supporters.
"For your information, Arror and Kimwarer were signed at the same time with other government projects. Signed by the same companies and funded by the same financiers. How come the only project that did not go through?
"The contractors are in court in London and the Government of Kenya is already replying to the case in court. They cannot afford to make it public because it is embarrassing. I do not believe any money was lost and if it was lost, people should be taken to court.
Lang Grabbing Accusations
The moderators probed the UDA candidate on perceptions that he had a huge appetite for public land - citing the Taita Taveta ranch, Murumbi Hacienda in Narok, and the Muteshi matter where he was ordered to surrender 100 acres of land belonging to an Internally Displaced Person (IDP).
"I am proposing to deal firmly with the fight against corruption. Any piece of land that I have is legally acquired. I was a victim of fraudulent sellers of the land (Muteshi land). What the court ordered me to do is pay for the three years I stayed on the land. The people who sold the land to me were taken to court.
"Acquisition of property is a legitimate endeavor. I have paid value for any property I have... For your information, I am probably the only politician in Kenya that has been audited left, right, upside down and inside out on any matter. If I was a quiet business person, I would not attract the same kind of labelling that I have been subjected to," he remarked.
Below is the video:
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/HQ7KnIqq6n0.jpg?itok=QITFYcBk","video_url":"","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}
