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Deputy President William Ruto yesterday continued to criticise his boss, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his ‘Handshake’ partner Raila Odinga for allegedly corrupting the political system by merging the government and the opposition.

Ruto, who attended the Safina Party Special National Delegates Conference, said the collapse of the Opposition led to a lack of checks and balances on government, which has led to “State Capture”.

“They have facilitated the corruption of forming a political system that promotes State Capture and benefits only a few. We need proper political formations with clear checks and balances that respect opposition and government, and better use of natural resources,” he said.

Ruto said the August polls will be a competition between those who, he claimed, wanted to change the Constitution and those who want to change the economy.

Jobs for many

“This is a constitutional moment. While we believe in economic moments, they want to create jobs for a few people; we believe in creating jobs for many.  They want to change the constitution to give the President more power by undermining the Legislature so that they can give jobs to MPs who already have jobs,” said Ruto.

Safina Party leader Paul Muite invited the DP to form a government together should they win the August 2022 polls.

Muite, a former Kabete MP and Presidential candidate in the 2013 polls said that the Safina party was formed in 1994 as a vision that no Kenyan should sleep hungry because of lack of enough food.

“It is the right of Kenyans to have food and clean water. Engineers, doctors and lawyers are struggling to feed their families. Every Kenyan needs a decent house to live in with their families.

“It happens that UDA has an identical vision to Safina’s social-economic policies. When Safina wins, we will invite you and UDA to come to build a government together. When you win, also come and invite us to form the government,” said Muite.

Safina presidential aspirant Jimi Wanjigi said the State has been taken over by economic terrorists, suffocating Kenyans and making it impossible for small businesses to thrive, besides stealing the health, education, livelihoods and social security of citizens. “We have had a parasitic, predatory and cruel leadership, with no human face and no human value.  We have suffered a chain of governments and leaders who are oppressive, do not care and have exercised very poor judgment.  This is a leadership that has been cannibalising and destroying our transformational Constitution to maintain the bloodsucking, rigged system,” said Wanjigi.

He added that the problems Kenya’s faces are the product of 60 years of political and governance failures, and voters should not look up to the same leadership to get them out of this mess.

“Itwika was a revolutionary call to change leadership from one generation to another (when life became unbearable), from old leadership to new leadership, from old ways to new ways. We must think globally and act locally. Tools of yesterday cannot meet the needs of today and tomorrow,” he said.

Other areas he touched on include fiscal and budget transparency, agriculture revival, provision of cheap, reliable and efficient energy, investment in transport and other infrastructure, prosecution of those who played a part in the destruction of the rule of law, economy and livelihoods and affordable internet especially for the youth to generate their own content.

Those who accompanied Ruto to the forum included former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, MPs Rigathi Gachagua (Mathira), Kimani Ichung’wa (Kikuyu), Didmus Baraza (Kimilili), Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), Laikipia Woman Rep Cate Waruguru and nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura.