DP William Ruto reacts after Nation frontpage put him 'in fight' with Raila Odinga

The headline read, "Ruto, Raila fight for the 'hustlers'," with details on former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's recent utterances on policies to elevate Kenyans at the "bottom", to mean, low income earners.

“Going forward, and to ensure more balanced growth, urban regeneration will need to go hand in hand with a very deliberate policy of Rural Transformation that makes rural life more livable and migration to cities unnecessary. Where our policies have encouraged rural-urban migration, we will need approaches that encourage rural-urban integration,” the ODM party leader stated.

Deputy President William Ruto with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga Pulse Live Kenya

The special AU envoy added: "As Prime Minister, I championed slum upgrading as a means of ensuring those fleeing rural areas do not end up in more deplorable urban dwellings. President Uhuru Kenyatta has championed urban regeneration, especially in his second term."

Reacting to the headline, DP Ruto - for a second time - invited Mr Odinga to join his "Hustler Nation Movement" political outfit.

"My friend Tinga, welcome to Hustler movement. The conversation here is about the economy not ethnicity, empowerment not power, jobs not positions, creating opportunity/ wealth not sharing, citizens not leaders BY changing policy not the constitution to bottom-up not top-down economics," DP Ruto tweeted.

Raila invited to the Hustler Nation movement

DP Ruto issued his first invitation to the special AU envoy last week, asking Mr Odinga to join his 2022 campaign vehicle.

In a brief clip posted by the nation's second-in-command, the DP suggested that he, the former PM and former Vice President Musalia Mudavadi shared a similar political philosophy - the bottom-up approach.

In the video clip, the DP melded footage from two recent public addresses by the ODM party leader and the Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader.

Both national leaders were speaking on the importance of small businesses and empowering Kenyans to conduct profitable businesses.

ANC's Musalia Mudavadi and Raila Odinga ANC's Musalia Mudavadi and Raila Odinga Pulse Live Kenya

In an interview with Radio Citizen, Mr Odinga was asked whether he would consider working with DP Ruto in 2022.

To which he answered: "First of all, DP Ruto should stop claiming he has ever assisted me politically. He has said that he helped Nyayo (former President Daniel Moi), he said he helped me and he has claimed he helped President Uhuru Kenyatta. Where did he help me? In 2007 when we conducted the primaries at Kasarani, I came in first, Mudavadi was second and he was third. That is how I ended up being the presidential flag-bearer.

"DP Ruto has segregated himself, he is already campaigning by himself and he has a right as a Kenyan citizen to do so," Mr Odinga responded, suggesting that he had no plans of working together with DP Ruto.