Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has promised the opposition leaders a tough ride “to expose their lies” ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kindiki said the opponents do not have anything to present to Kenyans apart from loads of lies and a stack of sheer arrogance meant to mislead voters into supporting a clueless lot.
“President Ruto and I are fully prepared to face wananchi and ask them to vote for us again for the second term. We are ready. We will not come with arrogance demanding your vote as if it is our right like what our opponents who are forcing and threatening you to vote for them. They will be shocked,” DP said.
The DP spoke on Saturday when he addressed more than 40, 000 grassroots leaders, opinion shapers, village elders and Community Health Promoters (CHPs) from Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, Kitui and Isiolo at Kinoru Stadium in Meru town. Also present were elected leaders, former councilors and MCAs among thousands of residents from the six counties.
Kindiki stated that it is time to expose the lies the opposition has fed Kenyans the last four years saying it is not a difficult thing to do as the administration has done many tangible things that all Kenyans have witnessed across the country.
He said the writing is on the wall for them pledging to expose all the untruths in the coming months.
“Our opponents have been all over lying to Kenyans the last four years because they have been idle and with nothing to do. All the time, we have been busy at work, employing teachers, ensuring agriculture reforms, better roads, improved health care but we are now ready to face them eye to eye, face to face and expose them in the broad daylight,” DP added.
While enumerating the multiple development projects and programmes done by the Ruto administration since taking over in 2022, Prof. Kindiki the rich development record and high scorecard is what will distinguish them from the agenda-less opponents who are focused on rubbish, name calling and insults.
“What will distinguish us from them is the massive development we have done in just four years. Most of them have been in power before, some for decades, but they did absolutely nothing but are now out trying to lecture us. The voters will expose you,” DP warned them.
“Some are attempting to claim some fame because they came up with some nicknames for the opponents and they are running around selling that as their only agenda.”
The rich development record, DP said, has been achieved through radical reforms, well-thought-out decisions, well-intended programmes and forward-looking policies meant to gradually elevate Kenya to a first world status.
“We must ensure the country develops like other developed countries in Europe, China and America among others. It is possible to make sure that this country reaches first world economic status in the next 30 years,” he stated.
Top of these massively productive interventions include subsidizing farm inputs including cutting fertilizer prices, reducing cost of seeds and sexed semen for farmers. The semen has come down from 8000 shillings to 1000 shillings per dose.
Owing to these interventions, farming has become more lucrative once again while production has gone up.
Coffee prices have also significantly shot up from 40 shillings to over 120 shillings per kilogramme in 2022 and milk prices have increased from 33 shillings per litre to 50 shillings.
The Education sector has been a big beneficiary of government’s interventions that have entailed recruitment of 100, 000 teachers to address acute shortage in schools. This is on top of better school infrastructure, streamlining of Technical Training Institutes that has enabled higher recruitment, rolling out of Recognition of Prior Learning, duo-training, modularization programmes. The university education has also been restructured.
“Kenya must change and that is why we have spent four years laying the foundation for a better Kenya. That is why we will be coming back to the people for a second term so that we can build on the foundation and continue with the transformation towards first world status in a single generation,” DP emphasized.
The health sector has not been left behind as the DP said implementation of the Universal Health Coverage through Taifa Care programme has been successful with over 32.3 million Kenyans enrolled so far. Over 107, 000 Community Health Promoters have also been recruited in addition to more doctors, nurses and other medics.
On infrastructure, stalled roads have been restarted, over 600 modern markets under construction, 32 stadiums including the magnificent Talanta Stadium in Nairobi are ongoing, many completed and others almost done.
The DP said what they have will get them reelected, not empty talk and rhetoric meant to mislead Kenyans.
“We will come to the voters and request them to vote for us because of the development record we will present to them,” he said.
The meeting at Kinoru Stadium unanimously ratified the declaration by Mt. Kenya East Elders at Nembure Grounds last Saturday, endorsing the re-election of President William Ruto in next year’s general election, with Prof. Kindiki as his running mate. Saturday’s meeting also reiterated that DP Kindiki is the undisputed leader of the Mt. Kenya Region and commissioned the elders from the Eastern side of the mountain to reach out to their counterparts in Mt Kenya West, to forge a united mountain and country at large.
At the same time, Prof. Kindiki said the region should not be divided, giving his blessings to efforts by the elders to unite it.
Leaders in attendance said they will not be cowed and lied into supporting those who have no plan for the development of the region and the country.
“We will support this government in 2027 and Prof. Kindiki in 2032 because we have seen what they have done for us. Together with the thousands of foot soldiers here, we will shame those insulting us,” Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi said.
Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Murithi said they will fully back the President and Deputy President in 2027 and beyond.
Governors Cecily Mbarire (Embu), Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi) and Isaac Mutuma (Meru) said they will not be dissuaded by anyone or anything to abandon their own for someone else.
“We have supported leaders from Mt. Kenya West for many years. We never insulted them. This time around we must support Prof. Kindiki,” she said.
“We are not children of a lesser father. We can also lead and we ask our brothers and sisters to support us,” said Governor Mutuma.
Governor Njuki noted: “We must support the President and Deputy President in 2027 and after that we continue to back the Deputy President in 2032.”
