MPs protest DP Ruto's actions against chiefs over ongoing drought

Members of Parliament protested remarks by Deputy President William Ruto that chiefs who claimed people had died of hunger had been sacked.

National Assembly Minority leader, John Mbadi took issue with the decision to sack chiefs who raised the death alarm in their regions, arguing that the administrators ‘were only doing their work.

“We have heard of junior government officials being punished for revealing the true situation on the ground. This is very unfortunate. We want to urge people to stop this intimidation and targeted harassment," a statement from NASA MPs read in part.

Hidden truths

NASA MPs hit out at DP Ruto over his remarks that no one had succumbed to hunger-related causes.

“Kenyans are very angry and wear joining them in their anger. But what is most annoying are statements from the DP that people are not dying. Does he think Kenyans are specimen to be placed in some laboratory so that they can be seen to be dying? Mbadi said.

The MPs criticized Ruto saying that the government was deliberately trying to hide the extent of the ongoing drought.

Unkind words

“We are particularly appalled by the recent denials and attempts by the deputy President to con lying to Kenyans that everything is fine and there is no cause for alarm," the MPs said in a statement.

"We are not buying this. By saying that news that people have died is ‘fake’ news, yet government officials on the ground are confirming the same as true is very careless, irresponsible and insensitive,” the statement added. 

On Wednesday, the DP, while addressing an Inter-professional Summit in Mombasa termed reports of drought-related deaths ‘fake’, saying the situation was under control.

“There is a lot of fake news about what is happening. We have been told that 11 people have died but that is not true. No one has died as a result of the drought," Dr Ruto stated.