Ruto Fires Back at Uhuru over Tribal Presidency Remark

Deputy President William Ruto has hit back at President Kenyatta saying the country’s next president will be elected based on their policies and not ethnicity.

Speaking at House of Hope Church in Kayole, Nairobi, Ruto stated that he supported President Kenyatta not because he is a Kikuyu but because he believed in his leadership.

He added that he voted for him thrice despite his predecessor Mwai Kibaki hailing from the same community.

“I supported Uhuru not because of his tribe. I supported him not because he was representing his tribe,” Ruto said.

Ruto warned that tribal politics will take Kenya backward, adding that leaders should be elected based on their ideologies.

“We cannot go back to tribal politics, we can only move forward if leaders stop seeking leadership positions based on their tribes, and instead focus on ideologies,” Ruto said.

Ruto spoke a day after Uhuru castigated proponents of hustler versus dynasty politics, noting that if the same rationale was to be applied, then his successor should not be a Kikuyu or Kalenjin.

Uhuru said the two communities have led the country since independence and that it might be the time for other communities that have not tasted leadership to take over.

Uhuru was speaking in Vihiga during the funeral of Mama Hannah Mudavadi, the mother of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi.