President William Ruto should withdraw Kenyan police officers serving on an international mission to restore peace in Haiti, opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa have said.

The families of the officers, the leaders said, were traumatised and spending sleepless nights worrying about the safety of their loved ones.

Kenyans, Kalonzo said, had opposed the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti and that President Ruto pushed the plan through, “resulting in some of the young Kenyan soldiers being kidnapped and killed”.

Patriotic Kenyans, he added, could not sit back and watch young officers employed to offer security in Kenya being killed in a different country.

“Ruto’s move and decision did not have the backing and support of the United Security Council,” Kalonzo added. “We are now demanding that President Ruto swallow his pride and immediately withdraw all our police officers deployed to Haiti and bring them back home.”

Speaking at the Nyaikuro Primary School playground in Kitutu Masaba constituency yesterday during the burial of Mzee Ben Onwonga Omariba, Kalonzo asked Kenyans to reject Ruto’s leadership.

Tainted by corruption

He claimed Ruto’s regime was tainted by corruption and has complicated the lives of many Kenyans due to high living costs.

He also accused Ruto of using the military to make political statements meant to intimidate those opposed to his autocratic and bad leadership.

Kalonzo reminded military generals who have been issuing political statements to stick to their constitutional mandate and stop being dragged by Ruto into politics.

Wamalwa said Ruto had hatched a scheme to use the military to intimidate Kenyans and the opposition who are opposed to his “failing leadership”.

“This scheme started mid-last year when the Gen Z went to the streets to oppose the finance bill and the high cost of living,” Wamalwa told mourners.

“We are telling our military generals to confine themselves to the barracks. Let them stop being misadvised by Ruto to come out of the barracks and start politicking.”

MPs Dickson Machungu (Luanda), Robert Masiri (Yatta) and Irene Kasalu (Kitui woman rep) asked Kenyans to support Kalonzo for President if they expected a better Kenya.

Former Borabu MP Ben Momanyi asked Kenyans to reject Ruto’s bid for a second term, describing him as a burden on Kenyans.

“I’m asking members of the Abagusii community to join the rest of Kenyans in rejecting Ruto’s leadership, which has reduced Kenyans to paupers due to the high cost of living.”