Speaking on Amanpour’s present in an unique interview Wednesday, Ruto mentioned he had already reached out to his election rival Raila Odinga, and mentioned he would construct alliances that can assist to convey the nation collectively.
“The administration that I’m going to run is going to be an administration that is going to serve all Kenyans equally, whether they voted for us or they did not,” mentioned Ruto, whose victory was confirmed by a Supreme Court ruling on Monday.
Ruto, 55, received with 50.49% of the vote towards Odinga’s 48.85% in final month’s election, which handed off calmly regardless of Kenya’s current historical past of political violence, together with the killing of practically 1,500 individuals within the aftermath of the December 2007 election.
Asked in regards to the peaceable proceedings, Ruto mentioned that the scenario has been enhancing since 2007, and the subsequent election will likely be even higher.
“I think it speaks to the heart of the maturity of the democracy of our country,” he mentioned. “No citizen, no leader wants their country to be famous for violence.”
“We can go to an election, we can decide who our leaders are and the next day we can go back to work,” he added. “That is the standard we have raised for ourselves as the people of Kenya, I am very proud of it.”
Amanpour later requested whether or not outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who supported Odinga’s election bid regardless of Ruto being his vice-president, had been in contact because the election.
“Unfortunately, President Kenyatta has not seen it fit to congratulate me,” he mentioned. “Maybe he’s a bit disillusioned or maybe he’s unhappy that I defeated his candidate, but that is the nature of politics.”
‘Big shift’ in overseas coverage
Among those that have contacted Ruto are a variety of world leaders, and he says he advised them to not anticipate “a big shift” in Kenya’s overseas coverage.
“I intend to scale up the participation of Kenya in many of the areas, especially in our regional peace initiatives,” mentioned Ruto.
“I will be available, I will play my part, I will scale up Kenya’s standing and contribution in that space so that together we can contribute to a better, a much more peaceful neighborhood.”
Among these challenges is Somalia, with has longstanding safety points and now a looming famine.
“Somalia is a difficult nut to crack,” mentioned Ruto, who mentioned he has labored with the nation’s newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud up to now.
“We are looking forward to working with him and with the international community so that we can square out the challenges in Somalia, make it possible for Somalia to take care of its own security concerns,” mentioned Ruto.
No ‘blame sport’ on grain blockade
Humanitarian points are additionally on the agenda, and Ruto advised Amanpour that he’ll work for a peaceable decision to the battle in Ukraine to be able to permit extra grain shipments from the nation to succeed in East Africa.
Ruto plans to spice up grain manufacturing domestically and regionally, he mentioned, whereas refusing to level the finger at Moscow over the shortages.
“I do not think blame game would help in that equation,” he mentioned.
Amanpour later quizzed Ruto on human rights, notably his earlier feedback that there was “no room” for homosexuality in Kenyan society.
“I am very clear that we respect everybody and what they believe in, but we also have what we believe in and we expect to be respected for what we believe in,” mentioned Ruto, who mentioned he doesn’t suppose that LGBTQ rights are an vital subject for Kenyans.
“We do not want to create a mountain out of a molehill,” he mentioned, including that he prefers to focus his efforts on unemployment and starvation. “When it becomes a big issue for the people of Kenya, the people of Kenya will make a choice.”
Same-sex relations have been banned because the British colonized Kenya within the late nineteenth century. Kenya’s penal code criminalizes “carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” Anyone discovered partaking in same-sex relationships might resist 14 years in jail.
Amanpour additionally pressed Ruto on his controversial promise to deport Chinese individuals from Kenya, however the President-elect argued that he had been taken out of context.
He was referring to Chinese individuals who work with out a allow, mentioned Ruto.
“Everybody will do business, everybody will do whatever they want to do so long as they are doing it within the law,” he mentioned.
“Anybody that operates outside the law, it doesn’t matter where they come from, they will be sent back from where they came from.”
