Why am I being charged in court? Ruto asks

By Athman Amran

Higher Education minister William Ruto has said he will not resign, as there are no new investigations facing him.

He said the Sh96 million fraud charges, which he now has to face after losing a constitutional reference case, are not new and that he was not facing any fresh charges.

“What new thing is there that would make me a different position now?” Ruto said during a press conference at his Jogoo House offices on Saturday immediately after arriving from an official trip to Japan.

The ODM deputy leader vowed to remain in office until the case is heard and determined.

Ruto, who is also Eldoret North MP, said the new Constitution did not change the principle that one is deemed innocent until proven guilty.

“To me it is not a long time to wait. I am sure the case will be determined one way or another,” Ruto said.

The minister also said he will not succumb to the whims of his political foes who, he argued, want to drag him through mud due to his political standing.

“There is a propensity to trying to get rid of me and I do not know why,” he said adding that his conscious and mind were “absolutely” clear and that he was used to being targeted.

But he warned that those who were hounding him will one day pay through their noses.

He also said his losing the case did not come as a surprise to him and that the case has become part of his 13-year political career.

Ruto alleged that those who have taken him to court had a political motive and that the case has just taken an unusually long time.

“There have been inordinate delays because of the politics of the case. When the case was taken in 2004 I expected it would take a year or so, but it took four-and-a-half years to get judges to take up the case,” Ruto claimed.

He said it has taken one year for the judgment to be made.

“But the issue at hand here is that I am a very innocent man,” he said and wondered why those who benefited from the transaction have not been dragged to court.

“The question I am asking myself is why Ruto is in court?” he posed adding that those involved in the transaction have never denied involvement.

He also said he has not received even a single penny from the transaction and asked why he should be targeted for the five acres when there are 100 acres involved.