Kenyan Vice-President William Ruto, who is not supported by the government for the presidential election on August 9, told AFP on Monday that he believed in his victory, arguing that his country is a democracy where elections are not manipulated.
Now 55, Ruto, reputedly ambitious and a fine strategist, was initially promised to succeed incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022 as the candidate of the presidential party.
But in a reversal of alliances of which Kenyan politics has the secret, Kenyatta and his party will support their historical opponent Raila Odinga, 77, in this high-stakes election for the economic engine of East Africa, relegating Ruto to the rank of outsider.
“I am very confident that I will win this election,” said Mr. Ruto in an interview with AFP from the imposing vice-presidency, where huge vehicles flocked with his face or colors are lined up. yellow and green of his party, the UDA.
“Kenyans make their choice supremely. There is a false discourse that elections are manipulated (…) It is very difficult to steal an election”, adds this former MP and minister who underlines having participated in seven national elections and local.
At most, the elections can be “influenced”, he says, but in this eventuality “we will hold our ground and we will win anyway”.
During the last presidential election in 2017, on an appeal from Odinga who considered his victory stolen in a context of strong tensions, the election was canceled by the Supreme Court – a first in Africa – and then rescheduled.
Kenyan elections have repeatedly been marked by violence, particularly ethnic violence, as in 2007-2008 (more than 1,100 dead, hundreds of thousands displaced).
Asked regarding his reaction in the event of defeat, Mr. Ruto, a time prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the violence of 2007-2008, affirms that “the election will be peaceful”.
He is convinced that he will influence the destinies of the country, at least through the legislative elections.
“According to my information, we will certainly control the Parliament and we will certainly control the Senate (…) So we will have a task to perform in the service of Kenyans, in order to ensure that Kenya remains a democracy.”
– Purchasing power –
Mr. Ruto is completing ten years of vice-presidency during which he was at the heart of the state apparatus, alongside Uhuru Kenyatta, but he claims to have a different heritage.
Welcoming their cooperation and their successes, particularly on infrastructure during the first term of 2013-2017, the former dolphin accuses Kenyatta of having abandoned their common program, the “Big Four”, focused in particular on food security and development. housing, during the second mandate.
“As a result, we are now facing a cost of living crisis in Kenya,” said the man who focused his campaign on the purchasing power of the poorest, street vendors and other motorcycle taxis, as well as on the youth employment.
Three out of ten Kenyans live in extreme poverty, on less than $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank.
Ruto, a wealthy businessman who started from nothing, has set himself up as a defender of the little people of the “resourceful” once morest the Kenyan political dynasties, of which MM. Kenyatta – son of Kenya’s first president – and Odinga – whose father was vice-president.
He defends a “bottom-up” economy in a country plagued by corruption and bad governance, where inflation has exploded in recent months, fueled in particular by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and by the war in Ukraine.
“We brought the (real) problems to the heart of the elections. The most important point of this election today is the economy,” he said.
Leader of the Kalenjin ethnic group, one of the largest in the country, Mr. Ruto goes so far as to say that the community vote, traditionally dominant in Kenya and fueling the violence, will fade away.
The candidate chose as running mate Rigathi Gachagua, a Kikuyu, an ethnic group with which the Kalenjin had clashed in 2007-2008. Raila Odinga, a Luo, has chosen Martha Karua, also a Kikuyu, as running mate.
“We’ve largely managed to move away from the usual competition around ethnicity and that sort of thing, to a point where we’re discussing issues that affect all Kenyans: the cost of living, the economy, creating ‘jobs,’ he insists once more.
