President Ruto dismisses claims of meeting al Shabaab

President William Ruto has dismissed claims by the United Opposition that he held secret meetings with al Shabaab in Northeastern.

Ruto said his development agenda will not be distracted by politics of division and stereotype.

“Sijui watafanya nini wale [United Opposition]. Wakati nilikuja hapa, walisema nimekuja kukutana na al Shabaab… So I want to tell you the people of northern Kenya we are moving together,” he said.

To affirm this, Ruto said this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations will be held in Northeastern.

He said the move is informed by his administration’s resolve to not leave any person or region behind in terms of national development.

 “For the first time tuatleta mambo ya Madaraka hapa northern Kenya. Mwezi wa sita mwaka huu… In the month of June, we will celebrate the National Independence Day,” Ruto said.

In August last year, Gachagua alleged that Ruto met unidentified individuals in what he described as closed-door engagements, and further suggested that the government had removed security vetting for residents in Northern Kenya.

He also linked the alleged meeting to al Shabaab sympathisers.

The DCP leader spoke during his tour in the US.

Mandera Senator Ali Roba, at the time, said he was present throughout the President’s visit to Mandera and maintained that all meetings were conducted in the open and involved only officially recognised leaders and the public.

“As a leader who personally accompanied President William Ruto from the moment he landed in Mandera to the moment he departed, I can confirm that the President’s engagements were transparent and within public domain,” said Roba.

He said the itinerary was made public ahead of time and that there were no private or unscheduled meetings.

Roba also addressed the comments on security vetting, saying the President had reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ending what he termed as discriminatory practices that have historically affected residents of border regions.