President Uhuru Kenyatta has finally admitted to reports that he wanted to leave the presidency, following the disputed 2017 general elections.
Revelations that the Head of State almost quit the presidential race came to light early this week, after recorded audio emerged, in which Deputy President William Ruto narrated how he almost slapped the President for wanting to go back to his rural home in Ichaweri.
“Uhuru started showing signs of giving up. He told me he wants to go to Ichaweri. He told me that we quit the fight for the presidency. I looked at him and told him, you, it is because of respect but I would have slapped him,” DP Ruto said in part of the tape.
Reacting to the audio tape, Uhuru admitted that it was true he wanted to leave the presidency.
He however said his move was based on the interest of the people, at the expense of leadership.
“Yes, I wanted to go back to Ichaweri because I couldn’t compare power with bloodshed,” Uhuru said, while referring to a tense situation that the country was experiencing after their opponents, then in opposition, National Super Alliance (NASA), boycotted the repeat presidential election.
NASA presidential candidate at the time, Raila Odinga, ended up swearing in himself as the People’s President.
On the threat to be slapped by DP Ruto over his insistence that he wanted to leave the presidency, Uhuru said “If they had slapped me over power, I would have given them the other cheek to slap.”
Following the emergence of the tape, first played to the public by Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed, the second in command said it was true.
He however defended his willingness to slap his boss, saying, there was no way he was going to allow Uhuru to leave power to the opponent, yet he had freely, and fairly won.
“Even if I forced Uhuru Kenyatta to be President, is there a problem? Azimio supporters should stop this nonsense. They are spreading a recording saying that Ruto forced Uhuru to be president. If you were me, would you have accepted Uhuru to abandon us with the way we had pushed him?” DP Ruto, vying for the presidency using his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party said during a Kenya Kwanza political rally in Meru.
