Ruto Welcomes President Uhuru's Pledge to Hand Over Power to the People’s Choice

Deputy President William Ruto has hailed President Kenyatta’s announcement that he will hand over power to whoever wins the presidency in the August 9th general elections.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Baringo County on Monday, Ruto pointed out that the commitment by the president has effectively ironed out their long-standing differences. 

"Bwana rais, we had a problem with you when you were saying that you cannot hand over to William Ruto, now that you have accepted that whoever the people choose you'll hand over to them, we are together," said Ruto.

Ruto, who is eyeing the presidency on a UDA party ticket, also exuded confidence that he will trounce his main challenger Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition in the forthcoming elections. 

"You also said that the one who will be defeated you will go home with them. Utatusaidida yule mtu asing'oe reli na asilete fujo. Muende nyumbani na yeye huyo mtu wa kitendawili," he added.

The deputy president was referring to President Kenyatta's speech during the official commissioning of the Nairobi Expressway on Sunday where he reiterated his commitment to hand over power to the winning candidate.

Ruto further assured Kenyans that there will be peace across the country during the election period, and urged his supporters to reject attempts to incite them.

"I want to tell all the people in Kenya. There will be no conflict in this country. And I want to ask every Kenyan not to accept the incitement that is going on. People will vote for who they want and how they want. Even if they are voting for my competitor, we will support the citizens to do so because we are democrats and we believe in democratic free will of the people to make their own choices," he added.