Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party presidential candidate Raila Odinga has hit out at his main rival Deputy President William Ruto, accusing him of failing to show commitment to fighting corruption should he be elected President in the upcoming elections.

Speaking in Nyamira County on Friday, Odinga scoffed at the Kenya Kwanza manifesto launched by Ruto on Thursday saying it failed to articulate how a Ruto-government would tackle what is perceived as the country’s biggest problem; corruption.

Odinga said he followed through the presentation by Ruto and he did not hear, even once, the Kenya Kwanza flag bearer address the corruption issue.

"There is this guy who launched his manifesto yesterday and I was listening keenly when he did so. I did not hear him mention the war on corruption even once. He spoke about increasing salaries, granting more authority to judges but not how to tackle graft and theft of public resources," said Odinga. 

At the same time, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance presidential campaign team also poked holes in Ruto's manifesto launched at the Kasarani Stadium on Thursday labelling it as “underwhelming and punctuated by empty promises.”

In a statement on Friday, Raila Odinga's Presidential Campaign Secretariat spokesperson Professor Makau Mutua castigated DP Ruto for allegedly failing to mention and explain how a Kenya Kwanza government intends to tackle corruption should the DP clinch the presidency seat in August.

"The word corruption was not mentioned and did not cross Mr. Ruto's lips even once. Like the plague, Mr. Ruto completely avoided any mention of the word. We know why," said Mutua in the statement.

Mutua went on to claim that the Kenya Kwanza outfit is "the home of the largest collection of questionable political characters in the country," quipping that a number of Kenya Kwanza and UDA-allied politicians, have been linked to a number of graft cases in the past.

"It is no wonder that Mr. Ruto and Kenya Kwanza have no agenda or plan to address corruption, the number one impediment to the development of our country. Nothing will ever go forward in this country without slaying the dragon of corruption," said Mutua.

In contrast, Makau added, Azimio's presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua have publicly committed to bring to an end  to corruption, should they assume office, noting that there will be zero tolerance for corruption under Azimio's leadership.

Odinga for instance intends to make Karua his Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister should he win at the ballot owing to her proven background in legal affairs, her strong stance on human rights and fighting corruption.

"There will be no room at all for any corrupt individual in the Azimio government. This vice is the biggest threat to Kenya and we are determined to stamp it out, unlike our opponents who do not even dare to utter the word," said Mutua.