Deputy President William Ruto took to Twitter on Saturday to call out The Standard newspaper over a story he termed as fake news.
In a front-page story titled “BBI Sets up Ruto Clash with Uhuru and Raila”, the publication noted that the release of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report next week would set up the stage for a showdown pitting Ruto against President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
“The stage has been set for a major political clash between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga on the one side, and Deputy President William Ruto on the other side as the BBI taskforce hands over its report on Tuesday,” the article read.
In response, DP Ruto dismissed the Standard’s story as fake news and urged Kenyans to ignore the “garbage.”
“Usual The Standard gutter fake news. Where did WSR [William Samoei Ruto] utter such nonsense? Kenyans should look forward to a robust, truthful national conversation to chart a unified way forward. Meanwhile, ignore Standard’s garbage,” a tweet by the DP read.
In the article, The Standard reported that Kenyatta and Ruto had made contradicting remarks about the BBI report on Friday.
While attending Kibabii University’s fourth graduation ceremony, Kenyatta hit out at political leaders who have rejected the report before reading its contents.
“My only prayer, especially to the political class, is that this is an opportunity to engage in meaningful and peaceful discourse. We don’t want to divide the country,” he stated.
On the other hand, DP Ruto indicated he would oppose the report when he graced a thanksgiving ceremony held by Jubilee Party’s candidate in November 7th Kibra by-election McDonald Mariga at the Bomas of Kenya.
“Kenyans are not fools to just accept conmanship hidden in BBI which they are using as a political tool for 2022,” the DP was quoted.
