Raila Odinga, the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate, has dragged his main opponent, Deputy President William Ruto, into the debate over the high cost of living.
Mr Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua traversed Nyeri County yesterday.
The ODM leader claimed that the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate was a contributor to skyrocketing food prices in 2009, when he was Prime Minister and Ruto was Agriculture Minister.
Mr Odinga told residents in Karatina, Mathira constituency, that the country lacked maize and that the cabinet resolved to buy maize from abroad, which was then diverted.
“I was the Prime Minister and I oversaw buying of maize from South Africa which was to be sold to local millers at Sh1, 600 but Dr Ruto stopped the programme.”
“He used his cronies who bought maize at Sh1, 500 from the National Cereals and Produce Board and sold it to millers at Sh2,500. He has no solution and is part of the problem,” Mr Odinga said.
According to the ODM leader, he fired Dr Ruto as a result of what was going on in the Agriculture docket, only for President Mwai Kibaki to have mercy on him and return him to the government.
However, if elected, he promised to reduce the cost of living in his first 100 days in office.
Mr Odinga and Ms Karua presented their team as clean, urging voters to reject the DP at the polls, claiming Kenya Kwanza does not have a track record of delivering services. Ms Karua assured Karatina residents that her track record would protect their resources.
“My grandmother was married in Mathira and so I’m also a local in this area. My brother should not be worried. I will protect him if we get to power,” she said.
Ms Karua urged residents to vote in large numbers for them, saying Mr Odinga is more mature and sober in politics than Dr Ruto.
Ms Karua stated that Mr Odinga’s basket is full of goodies and that he will not punish anyone, including their competitors, because they are only political rivals, not enemies.
She claimed Mr Odinga had climbed the mountain and expressed confidence that the region would vote for him overwhelmingly.
“I’m humbly pleading with the region that voting for Mr Odinga is voting for Ms Karua and vice versa. Even the people from Nyanza have never voted for Ms Karua but they will vote for me for the first time,” she said.
The Narc-Kenya leader challenged their competitors to indicate their track record and chided Dr Ruto for disrespecting his boss.
“If you can’t respect your boss you can’t respect Kenyans. If he can threaten to slap his boss, what can’t he do to Kenyans?”
Mr Odinga began his campaign in Chaka, Kieni, before moving on to Karatina, Mathira, the home turf of the DP’s running mate, Rigathi Gachagua.
They then proceeded to Mukurweini, Othaya, and Nyeri towns.
