Deputy President William Ruto has defended himself from wild reactions following a video of him dismissing “wale watu wa kubomoa”, interpreted to be jibes targeting the Luo community.
A video clip circulated on social media had the DP saying: “Kwani hawa watu wana tuambia saa hii stori mingi hatuwajui, si tunawajua? Ni watu ya kubomoa, kama hawabomoi chama, wanabomoa nyumba, kama hawabomoi nyumba wanang’oa reli, kama hawang’oi reli, wanatenganisha marafiki. Sasa hii watu ambao tunawaelewa we are entertaining them for what purpose,” he said in the clip.
The translation for his remarks means: “Those people bringing us many stories now we know them. We know they are destroyers, if they are not destroying political parties they are destroying houses, if not houses they are uprooting railway lines, if not railway lines they are separating friends. We know them, we are entertaining them for what purpose?”
Kenyans hit to social media to express their dissatisfaction with Ruto. ODM leader Raila Odinga’s director of communications, Dennis Onyango, was among those who took to social Media.
Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi was more diplomatic with his reaction, as was ODM’s David Osiany:
But Ruto has hit back, saying the country and the media should not fall prey to the mischief of “social media activists and political clowns”.
“We expect more sober and responsible interpretation and analysis of events and issues. The propagators of the anti-Ruto spin are blinded with desperation to the point that they cannot realise that they are the ones profiling a whole community,” Ruto said in a statement.
“Unless you’re telling me being Luo is equivalent to uprooting the railway, something I totally disagree with.”
