President William Ruto has thanked Opposition leader Raila Odinga for helping him unite the country.
Speaking in Kondele, Kisumu county on Saturday, Ruto appreciated the former Prime Minister for being a patriot.
"Nataka nisimamame hapa Kondele nimwambie ndugu yangu mkubwa Raila Amollo Odinga, asante sana kwa kuwa mkenya mzalendo. Mtu ambaye anaelewa maana ya amani, umoja wa wakenya kwa kunisaidia niunganishe taifa letu," Ruto said.
This loosely translates to, "I want to stand here in Kondele and tell my elder brother Raila Amollo Odinga, thank you very much for being a patriotic Kenyan, someone who understands the meaning of peace and the unity of Kenyans, and for helping me unite our nation."
He went on to describe Raila as a great leader who chose to put aside the differences they had for the greater good of the country.
"Nataka nimshukuru sana nikiwa hapa Kisumu for being a Kenyan patriot. For being a great leader, for putting aside our differences so that we can unite the country for the prosperity of our nation called Kenya," Ruto said.
Kisumu is Raila's stronghold and is an area that that has not been very welcoming to any of his opponents.
The President has been on a four-day working visit of the Nyanza region.
During his remarks he reminded the Kondele residents of past incidences where they were not very welcoming to him.
Ruto joked that should they give him a hard time this time around, he will report them to Raila and God.
He further joked that he did not know that people of Kondele were good people.
"Watu wa Kondele, kumbe ni nyinyi? Niko na kesi kubwa na nyinyi watu wa kondele. Mmenitesa sana. Mkiendelea kunitesa nitawashtaki kwa Baba na mkizidi nitawashtaki kwa Mungu. Nilikuja hapa, si mnajua vile mlinifanya hata sikuamini ni nyinyi. Yaani nyinyi huwa wangwana namna hii?"
(People of Kondele, is it you? I have a case with you. You have persecuted me so much. If you continue to persecute me, I will report you to Baba and if you continue, I will report you to God. I came here, you know what you did to me, I didn't believe it was you. I mean, are you guys this kind?)
