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DP Ruto Humbled During Cabinet Retreat [PHOTOS]
On Friday, October 16, President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani, Taita Taveta County where he is scheduled to chair a Cabinet meeting.
According to photos shared by State House the president arrived in a Kenya Airforce helicopter and was received by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i instead of Deputy President William Ruto as protocol dictates.
Uhuru then greeted DP Ruto who was waiting a meter away as the CS followed closely behind.
President Uhuru Kenyatta chairs a Cabinet meeting at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani, Taita Taveta County. pic.twitter.com/Sqv9VGHW3Q
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) October 16, 2020
The DP should have been the one to welcome the president but you know the circumstances they are in and Matiang’i was given priority,” the former GSU officer stated.
Members of the National Security Advisory Committee, (Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Interior PS Karanja Kibicho) were also part of the team that welcomed the president.
Ruto being sidelined caught the attention of Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who satirically tried to explain the photos.
“Deputy President Fred Matiangi receiving the president thereafter introduced other Cabinet members. Those of us who didn’t witness the last days of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta ‘will see things’ in the next 22 months,” Murkomen quipped.
Previously in 2019, through Executive Order No 1 of 2019, President Kenyatta delegated powers to Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives at the KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani where he is scheduled to Chair a Cabinet meeting, receive progress reports of several national security sector technology projects and preside over an innovation exhibition by young Kenyan techies. pic.twitter.com/Q95J3kL5zQ
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) October 16, 2020
With that, the CS was handed an expansive responsibility to chair and coordinate government development programmes and projects.
The announcement drew mixed reactions with some of Ruto allies stating that it was a move to undermine the DP.
On Thursday, October 15, the DP had slammed the NSACfor the cancellation of his Nyamira tour which was scheduled to happen a week prior.
Restrictions imposed by the NSAC required all political gatherings to have the blessings of local police commanders, forcing the DP to postpone his planned tour and comply.
While in Nyamira, Ruto stamped his authority as the deputy president and declared that state actors who were trying to curtail his influence were fools.
However, the photos from President Kenyatta’s arrival showed a stark contrast of a DP who had been sidelined.