When Ruto ‘threatened to kill’ Alfred Mutua
Deputy President William Ruto and Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua were on Monday pictured smiling while standing next to each other after closing ranks on the political front.
But this has not always been the case.
In fact, Mutua and Ruto have always been on the opposing sides of the political divide while exchanging not-so-pleasant words through the media.
Their relationship worsened sometime in 2019 when Mutua accused the DP of threatening to kill him.
Addressing the media outside Kilimani Police Station where he’d gone to file a complaint, Mutua gave what he says was a series of conversations that he’d shared with Ruto and Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen whom he claimed was in attendance when the alleged threats were uttered.
“The three above named persons (Ruto, Aden Duale, and Murkomen), issued threats at me. I believe they have threatened me due to my stand on integrity issues,” claimed Mutua.
“I’ve decided to go public for security and safety issues and put it to Kenyans that if anything happens to me, a member of the family, or any associate, the three should be held accountable,” he added.
The Maendeleo Chapchap party leader said this as he asked the government to beef up his security as he believed that there was an agenda to harm him.
He went ahead and gave two incidents in which he strongly believed that the trio had hatched a plan to deal with him.
In the first incident, he said that he was part of the political leaders who had on November 25, gone to State House to witness President Uhuru Kenyatta receive the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
While waiting for the function to kick off, he decided to have a conversation with fellow political leaders.
It is during the mingling with other leaders that he caught up with both Mr Duale and Mr Murkomen.
The two questioned him on why he was busy attacking them as they threatened to deal with him.
When he questioned the duo further, they told him that he was busy attacking the Deputy President and that was a clear indication that he was after them.
“When you attack our team, you attack us,” they told me before Murkomen added “Huyu niwachie nitamfix. (leaving him to him, I will fix him).
In the second incident in which he narrated how he met with DP Ruto who also threatened him at State House.
“I was standing with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga amongst other leaders when someone came to converse with him and I left,” he narrated.
According to him, as soon as he had left Mr Odinga he came face to face with DP Ruto who was in the company of Mr Duale.
He went ahead to greet DP Ruto and as he said hello, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leader started lecturing him before eventually assuring that he will deal with him.
The Machakos County boss said that what made him even more worried was how DP Ruto looked at him straight to the eyes and spoke in an angry voice before squeezing his hand during a handshake.
The DP would later explain the incident, suggesting Mutua had no reason for being worried after the handshake with his ‘tough’ hand.
But all that is water under the bridge as Mutua has promised to campaign all over the country and ensure the DP succeeds his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta at the expense of Odinga.