Matiang'i Answers Ruto On Source Of Election Threats Leaflets

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has dismissed claims by Deputy President William Ruto that election threats leaflets that have been widely circulated in the streets of Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County came from the office of the President.

Speaking in Nakuru after a meeting with security officials on Tuesday, August 2, Matiang'i revealed that while eight people have been arrested in connection to the inciting leaflets, none of them were employees of the State as the second-in-command had claimed.

Matiang'i then seemingly addressed Ruto, urging him to look at the facts before uttering statements masqueraded as lies to spread to members of the public.

DP William Ruto speaking during a past rally. /FILE

"The claim that you heard yesterday that the leaflets were authored by people from the Office of the President, now, we have eight suspects in police custody (in connection to the leaflets found in Eldoret) and none of them is an employee from the office of the President.

"Some of our leaders look like they are inoculated against the truth but they can never speak anything truthful, and they keep imagining and saying things that they think make sense when in actual fact, they can convince a fool," he noted.

He also deemed false Ruto's claims that the sinister plot was being orchestrated by Matiang'i and his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho.

While speaking during a rally in Eldoret on Monday, August 1, Ruto urged his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, to take action against the two while adding that they were constantly meeting with chiefs to interfere with the election process.

"The claim that chiefs are being misused is as ridiculous as it sounds. I have seen politicians warning me against meeting chiefs, can you imagine warning the Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) against meeting doctors or warning the Education CS against meeting teachers?

"My colleagues in the security sector are chiefs, in fact, hardly a day passes without me speaking to a chief, receiving a call from a chief or a DC or a county commissioner. PS Kibicho and I have been meeting chiefs all along," he said, further recounting a meeting in Trans Nzoia in 2021 with chiefs which had no political discussions.

DP Ruto further urged his supporters to be wary of the government's tactics, calling upon them to remain calm during the elections period.

"We cannot go from where we came from. The tactic of spreading leaflets so that people can differ is something that will not happen. You will not succeed because we have decided that we cannot go back and fight over politics," he said.