Deputy President William Ruto yesterday dismissed the endorsement of ODM leader Raila Odinga by a group of businessmen from the Mt. Kenya region.
Speaking at various stops during his campaign tour of Makueni County, the DP said the support by the Mt Kenya Foundation was inconsequential.
On Wednesday, the businessmen from the Mt Kenya region endorsed Raila’s presidential bid and vowed to mobilse resources for his campaigns.
At a luncheon held at the Safari Park hotel and attended by Raila, four Cabinet Secretaries and three Principal Secretaries, the members of the Mt Kenya Foundation also vowed to reach out to other regions, especially Ukambani and the Maa community, to back the opposition leader’s fifth stab at the presidency.
The businessmen questioned Ruto’s democratic credentials and his anti-corruption record.

“We don’t feel safe in the hands of individuals with a history of looting public coffers, land grabbing and perpetuating the displacement of our people,” they stated in a statement read at the function by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.
They further accused the DP of turning the region’s economic problems into fodder for his 2022 presidential campaigns and disrespecting the community’s leaders.
“That the people of Mt Kenya have no confidence in sweet talking people who want to take advantage of our problems and use them as fodder for electioneering without offering concrete solutions,” read the statement.
But speaking in Makueni yesterday, Ruto said Kenyans will have the final say on who becomes the next president.
“Those purporting to choose the country’s leadership in hotels and private meetings are doomed to fail,” Ruto said.
He challenged Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to join forces with United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
He said UDA was the party of the people with a big following, a national outlook and a clear economic agenda for the country.
The Deputy President said Kalonzo should not make a mistake of supporting Raila for the third time.
He claimed that Kalonzo had on numerous occasions been coerced to support Raila, yet the former Prime Minister was not ready to reciprocate.
“Kalonzo has been supporting Raila. It’s time he reconsiders his political stand,”he said.
He said UDA has an elaborate plan to open up the economy to benefit ordinary Kenyans.