Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino has criticized President William Ruto accusing him of negligence and abandoning Kenyans during time of need.

Addressing the press on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the lawmaker claimed that the president had misplaced his priorities by embarking on a state visit to Japan when citizens affected by the Embakasi gas explosion were yet to get assistance from the government.

While denouncing the Head of State, Babu affirmed that it was the government’s mandate to follow up on its citizens during such dire situations and ensure that a solution is achieved before focusing on other duties.

The vocal legislator expressed that it was shameful that a president could afford to travel out of the country in search of other interests when quarters in his country were suffering from a tragedy.

“People are not happy in Embakasi East constituency because of what happened, and that is complete negligence from the government. The government owes Kenyans a duty of care to protect them and therefore the government is directly liable for what happened to Kenyans in the Embakasi East constituency.

“It is shameful that when fire engulfed the great people of Embakasi East constituency, Ruto was and is still busy sitting on his hands. It is shameful that people lack houses in the Embakasi East constituency and the president is leaving the country to go to another country to find the interest of a foreign nation. It is shameful that people do not have food to eat in Embakasi East constituency but the president is running away from this challenge instead of facing it,” Babu stated.

Additionally, Babu accused the government of making false promises to the victims affected by the tragedy with no intent of fulfilling them.

Babu also compared Ruto’s governance to his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu, asserting that unlike the latter, who left a foreign country immediately after she received reports that citizens were dying from floods, Ruto was running away from the citizens in time of need.

“He did lie to us that he would give some financial support when Rigathi visited the area within one hour after his visit but up to date, there is nothing that has been done are these people not Kenyans? It is shameful that a president can leave in the middle of a crisis in the country when the issue has not been properly addressed, and leave for another country.

“The president of Tanzania left a foreign country when she heard that there was a flood when she heard that people were dying because of the flood, she left COP28 and went back to Tanzania. In our case, the president is leaving, running away from the country, running away from the challenge leaving the hustlers. Do we really have a president or a resident?” he posed.