President-Elect William Ruto has praised his main political rival Raila Odinga for not calling for street protests after he lost the presidential bid.
Moreover, the president-elect also stated that Raila’s move to file a petition in the supreme court to nullify his win has ensured the country moves on peacefully.
“I want to thank our competitors because they have contributed to the peace we have. For the first time, they haven’t planned demonstrations and other many things,” Ruto said.
The Kenya Kwanza boss made this remarks on Sunday, August 21, 2022 when he attended a church service in Kiambu County.
“We want to thank them for maintaining the peace because we have been able to move forward as a nation,” Ruto.
Likewise, Kiambu county resident voted for him overwhelmingly leading to his victory against Raila Odinga.
In addition, the president-elect hailed voters, calling them heroes for maintaining peace following the aftermath of the highly contested poll in which he won.
“The heroes in this election are Kenyans who went and voted peacefully. They have shown that they don’t want a Kenya that is confrontational and that we can vote and continue with our business and daily activities,” he said
Similarly, Ruto said his victory and the aftermath of the presidential election is a true testament that Kenya has buried ethnic politics which has dominated for decades.
Also Read: Tribalism And Voting Patterns In Kenya
The president-elect also pointed out that the support he garnered from Mt Kenya region among others in the country proves that Kenya has matured beyond ethnic cocoons.
According to Ruto, Kiambu County which is regarded as the outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta’s political bastion defied all odds by supporting him as opposed to Raila Odinga-who was Uhuru Kenyatta’s preferred successor.
“I appreciate that people of Mt Kenya have taken me as one of their sons. They have stood by me through thick and thin and buried ethnicity in the politics of Kenya. I am assuring you that I will not let you down,” Ruto said.
The president-elect explained that out of the 7,176,141 he garnered, the majority of the votes came from Kiambu County.
“Some wonder why we started with Kiambu. It is because this is where we got majority of the votes as compared to other regions in the country,” he said when he attended a church service on Sunday, “This is our Jerusalem and people of Kiambu have made history that they have voted for me tremendously as compared to my home county in Uasin Gishu County.”
