Stop baseless attacks on ministers, Uhuru tells Raila

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have told opposition leader Raila Odinga to stop attacking Cabinet secretaries on baseless accusations.

On Tuesday, Mr Odinga claimed that Dr Matiang’i is working closely with IEBC in order to rig the forthcoming elections.

But speaking during a campaign tour of Taita Taveta County, the Jubilee Party leaders said Mr Odinga's attacks against acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i was a sign that he has lost focus.

President Kenyatta said the opposition is wrong in attacking Dr Matiang’i who is charged with ensuring security for all Kenyans and is also ensuring that elections are held peacefully.

“You are competing with me and not Matiang’i. Let government officers do their job. If you want to be my minister I will give you a job later,” said the President when he spoke in Taveta.

LOST FOCUS

On his part, DP Ruto said the baseless attacks against Dr Matiang’i are signs that the opposition is not ready for elections and has lost focus.

“Leave Matiang’i alone. His job is to ensure security for all Kenyans,” said the DP.

Mr Ruto said the opposition is not ready for elections.

“They want confusion because they are not ready for elections. They are looking for a backdoor [way] of getting power,” he said.

The Deputy President said the opposition should make up its mind on whether it wants to be a participant in the election and if they are not ready, they should wait to contest in 2022.

“It is not Matiang’i who should make up his mind, it is them who should make up their mind whether they want to take part in the elections or they want to be the officials managing the polls,” said the DP.

FAKE CERTIFICATES

Taveta MP Naomi Shaaban said the attacks on Dr Matiang’i are due to his stand on fake certificates.

“They hate Matiang’i because he said he does not want fake certificates,” said Dr Shaban.

During the campaign tour, President Kenyatta said he has delivered his pledges to the people of Taita Taveta, including the tarmacking of the Mwatate-Taveta road.

The President said the Jubilee administration has also expanded access to electricity, provided free maternal healthcare, reduced the cost of education and has upgraded the Taveta Hospital.

He urged residents to vote for Jubilee so that the government can continue with its transformational agenda to create more jobs and wealth for Kenyans.

“Vote for Dan Mwazo as governor and all the Jubilee candidates so that I can get a team that will work with me to deliver more development to this county,” said the President.