Former PSCU director Dennis Itumbi has denied reports that a phone call from President Uhuru Kenyatta scuttled his deputy, William Ruto’s plans to field a candidate during the Msambweni by-election.
According to Itumbi, the details as reported by the Standard, are outright lies.
He asked the daily to avoid spreading lies and be “bold with the truth not fiction.”
Itumbi wrote, “Dear StandardKenya please choose JOURNALISM over FAKE NEWS. If indeed, you are Kenya’s BOLD newspaper. Be BOLD with the TRUTH not FICTION. To paraphrase someone, over time it is becoming clear there are THREE types of lies; Lies, Damn Lies and THE STANDARD! There was NO call.”
Dear @StandardKenya please choose JOURNALISM over FAKE NEWS. If indeed, you are Kenya's BOLD newspaper. Be BOLD with the TRUTH not FICTION. To paraphrase someone, over time it is becoming clear there are THREE types of lies; Lies, Damn Lies and THE STANDARD! There was NO call.. pic.twitter.com/lPFMermCKe
— -Dennis Itumbi, CBS (@OleItumbi) September 25, 2020
In today’s splash, the daily reported that Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju made a call to the president in the presence of Ruto on Wednesday.
This was after Ruto made his way to the party headquarters after it was decided that the ruling party would not field a candidate in the coastal area.
Tuju had cited prevailing conditions including the possible dissolution of parliament over the two-thirds gender rule and the fact that the seat was previously held by an ODM member, Suleiman Dori, who succumbed to cancer in March.
The paper said that the call was put on loudspeaker for the three to discuss the reason for not fielding a candidate.
“We were all told to leave the boardroom for the two immediately the phone call was made,” an official present at the Jubilee office, who sought anonymity told the Standard.
Tuju reportedly took Ruto through an internal document prepared by the party, with Uhuru, who was in Mombasa, listening in.
“He was told it was a party decision not to field a candidate. It was on this basis that the party leader was called to tell him as much,” another source revealed saying Ruto said he had not been consulted.
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