Deputy President William Ruto made a veiled attack on Raila Odinga as the differences over the push for Constitutional change escalated on Tuesday.
The DP, in apparent reference to the ODM boss who has proposed changes in government structure, said Kenyans must be wary of “politicians who use the Constitution as a bogeyman”.
“Lazy and incompetent people do not want to work hard. Such people lose an election and try to blame it on the Constitution,” he said at the third annual Legislative Summit held in Mombasa county.
The DP and his allies have vehemently opposed calls for changing the supreme law to introduce a three-tier system of government saying the move is only ‘Raila’s plan to remain relevant after the 2017 poll loss.”
The two have not been reading from the same script, worse off after the Opposition chief entered into a peace pact with President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 9.
Ruto said he was not willing to discuss the referendum issue, which has put him in the cross-hairs with the ODM team, but noted that the changes must be people-driven.
“I don’t want us to have the discussion here today. Even when we will discuss, the subject cannot be about the politicians but the people.”
Ruto said politicians must know that Kenya belongs to all the 47million citizens “who must be heard before the issue of the Constitution can be brought up”.
“…it must be about them it must not be about us. We have to be honest and sincere. This country does not belong any of us the politicians but the 47 million Kenyans,” he said.
On Monday, Raila’s allies launched a scathing attack on Ruto, branding him Kenya’s enemy number one in a vicious escalation of hostilities since the famous March 9 handshake.
They claimed the DP’s grudge-bearing and vindictive character, bad record in office and his tolerance to graft were the biggest impediments to his State House ambitions.
Ruto had fired the first salvo, referring to Raila as a ‘loser’ who is plotting a referendum to create top executive political positions for his selfish interests.’
The DP said the problem with Kenya is not the law, but “ambitious politicians with dictatorial tendencies who participate in elections but cannot accept the results”.
By NANCY AGUTU
