2022 Presidential Debate; DP Ruto Says Withdrawal Of Police Reservists From Rift Valley Was To Punish Him

The government’s decision to remove National Police Reservists (NPR) from banditry-prone regions of the Rift Valley, according to Deputy President William Ruto, was an attempt to retaliate against him.

The Kenya Kwanza presidential contender said that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration decision to withdraw the NPRs in 2019 in areas vulnerable to bandit attacks, including as Elgeyo Marakwet and Kerio Valley, was motivated by politics in his remarks during Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate.

“I have deployed my personal resources to deal with that situation because I know it was a political agenda; the withdrawal of the National Police Reserve (NPR) was really an unfortunate act but because it was intended to punish William Ruto,” Ruto said.

“Never mind that many people lost their lives, is a real tragedy, but that is the nature of our politics in Kenya, unfortunately.”
Ruto claims that because he was in command of the operation in Kerio Valley, which involved mobilizing resources and making sure that security was set up in the region, the government assumed that he was acting only on a personal level.

The head of UDA noted that the NPR’s disarmament, which took place later on the orders of Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, has contributed to the unrest in the area.

“We had close to 5,000 police reservists, we had even moved forward to provide armoured vehicles to make sure we can follow the criminals. We had a plan but it was frustrating,” he explained.

“I am the one who had taken charge; I mobilised the resources and was there every two weeks. I mobilised the identification of the NPR and it looked like it was about me when it was not about me.”

The DP further claimed that the failure of the multi-billion shilling Arror and Kimwarer dam projects was an attempt to harm him politically because they are situated in the area from which he is from. According to him, the government shut down the operation to harm his followers.

Ruto claimed: “The Kimwarer and Arror Dams were cancelled intentionally to punish my supporters.”