Deputy President (DP) William Ruto has urged politicians to refrain from invoking his name every time they discuss Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report in public rallies.
The Jubilee leader said politicians are free to campaign for the document but should leave his name out and also refrain from using abusive language to endear themselves to the masses.
Dr Ruto said: “I saw yesterday insults formed half of the meeting. There was less mention of BBI than mention of Ruto and his home in Sugoi.”
He said the politicians should concentrate on getting Kenyans’ views on the document and avoid trivializing their BBI public sensitization forums.
The Deputy President spoke on Sunday during a prayer service at Kyumbi Catholic Church in Maanzoni, Machakos County.
He was accompanied by MPs Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town), Vincent Musyoka (Mwala) Fabian Muli (Kangundo), Kimani Ichungwa (Kikuyu) and Nimrod Mbai (Kitui East).
Meanwhle, Dr Ruto urged the BBI taskforce to come up with a countrywide programme that would accommodate the views of every Kenyan.
He urged leaders from across the political divide to respect those with divergent views and give them space to freely express themselves.
“There is no need to hold people with a different opinion in contempt to the extent of denying them an opportunity to express themselves.”
The MPs said BBI meetings had been turned into platforms to insult and disparage Kenyans, a situation they said was dividing the country further.