Ruto dismisses claims he would back Mudavadi

By Titus Too and Mutinda Mwanzia

Eldoret North MP William Ruto has dismissed claims that he would back Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi for president should he be barred from contesting.

The MP termed as ‘propaganda’ reports that he and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta would settle for Mr Mudavadi in the next polls, saying no such decision has been made.

He said there is democratic space and that it is voters who would choose the next president to succeed Kibaki.

Crimes against humanity charges were recently confirmed against Ruto and Uhuru at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

Others are Head of Civil service Francis Muthaura and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

Assured supporters

Ruto and Uhuru, under the G7 Alliance, have been crisscrossing parts of the country in peace prayer rallies. They have assured their supporters their names will be in the ballot papers.

However, reports in a section of the Press had claimed that the two leaders would settle for Mudavadi if the ICC case bars them from running for president.

Ruto who was in his constituency to assess CDF projects Friday, said some individuals wanted others to be barred from elections, saying the scheme would fail. But Ruto did not name these leaders.

Ruto also called on parents to invest in their children’s education. He said exchange programmes between schools in the constituency and national schools would be started to boost performance.

Elsewhere, land experts have expressed concern over the Land Bills pending before Parliament saying they may result in the creation of laws that hinder development and economic use of land.

The experts said that extra work on the Bills needed to be done to ensure key issues affecting majority of Kenyan are adequately covered as provided by the Constitution and the National Land Policy.

The Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) that organised a high level policy dialogue forum in Nairobi, yesterday said that they will lead land experts in the next 20 days to seek concurrence on amendments to the Bills pending before Parliament.

LDGI Director Ibrahim Mwathane said the experts agreed to help the public access information on irregular land allocations.

Lands Minister James Orengo, Lawyer Paul Ndun’gu who chaired the Ndun’gu Land Commission, and LDGI Director Mwenda Makathimo were also present during the meeting.

The experts said they would seek guidance from professionals who have worked with internally displaced persons and ensure their issues are adequately addressed in the Bills.

Establish institutions

Mr Mwathane said there was also need to establish new land institutions that are accessible at the lowest levels of Government. He said the Bills should also promote sustainable practices and environmental conservation.

Mwathane said there should also be a suitable environment that nurtures real estate investments. "What happened at Syokimau and Eastlands where houses were demolished should not be repeated," said Mwathane.

He said the Bills should also protect local and foreign investments. Mwathane said that the rights of spouses in the Bills should be clarified.

"There should be a distinction on whether it is the matrimonial property or matrimonial home that should be protected by the law," said Mwathane.

He said the issue of taxation of idle land should also be clarified in the Bills since there was likely to be a contention on the legal interpretation of the definition of idle land. The experts said there was also need for the resolution of historical land injustices.