Raila Responds to Ruto's Claims of Lobbying for His Appointment to African Union

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has trashed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that he helped him secure a job at the African Union (AU).

Speaking in Naivasha on Sunday, Ruto claimed he helped President Kenyatta to lobby for Odinga's appointment as the AU envoy for Infrastructure.

“Negotiations of the AU position did not include prospecting for minerals or merchandise of any nature. All his job description involves is Africa’s basic infrastructure,” Ruto noted in reference to Odinga's alleged role in exposing Kenyan fake gold scammers.

Through his spokesperson Dennis Onyango, Raila termed Ruto's claims of lobbying for his appointment as cheap politics.

 “We don’t know what Ruto is a party to and what he is not. If he had his way, he would be a party to everything and anything."

“What we know and I believe all Kenyans know is that Ruto can never be a party to anything that uplifts Raila Odinga. If he was a party to those talks, he must have joined to stop it but failed,” he concluded.

Odinga was appointed AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development by Chairperson Moussa Faki in October last year.