Deputy President William Ruto has dismissed reports that he nearly smacked Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa.
While addressing a gathering in Trans Nzoia County on Tuesday July 12, the DP stated that he played a crucial part in Wamalwa’s career after advocating for his nomination to the Cabinet.
Ruto further jokingly remarked that he had been socialized to respect ladies and not assault them.
“I heard somebody I gave the CS job, who comes from here, claim that I wanted to slap him. Let me tell you this; Where I come from, we do not slap women. Tell him that we respect women.”
“Remind him to tone down. Without me, he would have been roaming around. I got him from the streets and gave him the CS job,” stated the DP.
Wamalwa raised the allegations for the first time on Saturday, July 9, claiming that Ruto almost slapped him in 2018 when he demanded his resignation letter.
He claimed that the incident occurred when he led a delegation of leaders from Western Kenya to State House.
The CS said that Ruto was enraged at the time because he did not want the meeting to occur because he was not informed about it beforehand.
“Ruto was furious and demanded my resignation. He wanted me to explain why I had taken leaders to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta without his permission,” he remarked.
The claims emerged less than a week after an audio clip circulated in which the DP claimed he came close to slapping President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017.
In his reaction, Ruto said that his opponents had resorted to secretly recording him, but defended the content of the recording, arguing he had every right to urge Uhuru not to cede power.
He argued that at the time, both him and the President had so much at risk that it would have been unreasonable for the Head of State to make the sole decision to retire early.
Also Read: Ruto on the Spot Again As Powerful Uhuru CS Reveals How He Nearly Slapped Him