Gloves off as Ruto, opposition exchange personalised attacks

President William Ruto addresses Homa Bay on August 28, 2024/PHOTO/FILE

Political temperatures on Tuesday soared in the Western region as President William Ruto and his rivals made a dramatic shift from policy debates to sharp personal attacks.

The war of words was ignited by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who took a swipe at the President’s alleged weight loss during a public address.

The remarks quickly set the tone for a bruising exchange as the President threw endless barbs at the opposition.

Ruto hit back with pointed remarks, dismissing his critics and accusing the unnamed leaders of ‘impregnating’ young girls.

He went ahead to accuse some unspecified critic of disinheriting the family of his late brother.

“How can a person who manipulated the will of his brother to disinhenrit widows and orphans give us lectures? Ruto posed.

“You cold blooded thief stealing from your own brother.”

He also hit out at another leader whom he accused of being lazy despite being left a fortune by his late brother.

Earlier the President challenged some opposition leaders to go the the gym and stay fit.

The President at the same time vowed to protect the integrity of Nairobi Hospital, declaring that his administration will not allow ‘conmen’ to take control of the premier health facility.

Speaking amid ongoing leadership wrangles at the hospital, Ruto said the government is closely monitoring the situation and will act decisively to safeguard the institution from individuals seeking to exploit it for personal gain.

“There is no way I am going to allow Nairobi Hospital to be taken hostage by charlatans, conmen and fraudsters; that is why, I have instructed that all those involved in fraudulent activities to be removed,” he said at Mt. Elgon in Bungoma county.

The dispute at the hospital has in recent days drawn national attention, especially after the arrest of board chairman Dr. Job Obwaka and other top hospital officials.

Ruto emphasised that institutions providing critical services such as healthcare must be protected from mismanagement and vested interests, warning that any attempts to destabilise them would be met with the full force of the law.

The President’s remarks are likely to escalate the high-stakes battle for control of the hospital, even as stakeholders call for transparency and adherence to proper governance structures.

Ruto also defended the arrest of Nairobi Hospital officials, saying he was approached by senior doctors and professionals from the hospital, asking him to save the hospital.

The president described Nairobi Hospital as a premier medical institution in the country and said he would not allow it to be ‘taken hostage by fraudsters.’

“As president of the Republic of Kenya and as patron of Nairobi Hospital, senior doctors and professionals from Nairobi Hospital approached me to save Nairobi Hospital,” he said.

The President was speaking on day—two of his tour of Western Kenya.

He fired at the opposition who had condemned the arrest of The Nairobi Hospital officials, to find something else to do.

“I want to tell the brainless opposition to find something else to do. They are just scavengers, scavenging on any headline,” Ruto fired.

Last week, police arrested and detained Obwaka, a director at the Kenya Hospital Association and an admitting consultant at The Nairobi Hospital, and the hospital board's vice chairperson Samson Kinyanjui.

Another director, Valery Gaya, was also held at Pangani police station alongside former director Chris Bichage.

Obwaka faces up to five charges related to registration of the hospital officials, a draft of charges listed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations shows.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has condemned the arrests and warned it could call a strike over what it termed mysterious arrests, while the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also raised an alarm.