Ruto recalls turning tables against Uhuru Kenyatta and making him an opposition leader
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President Ruto pokes at turning former Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta into an opposition leader after the August elections
President Ruto pokes at turning former Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta into an opposition leader after the August elections.
President William Ruto during his inaugural National Prayer Breakfast recounted how he was an outsider in the previous administration, when he served as Deputy President, and how things changed after the elections.
Ruto remembered pleading for forgiveness from his boss at the 2022 prayer breakfast, which was conducted months before the general election, in a dig at his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta.
“I remember the last prayer breakfast here was around the same. I remember asking for forgiveness from my friend the former president. It is interesting that today we are again discussing the subject of forgiveness and reconciliation,” Ruto said.
Terming the last election as a closely contested one, William Ruto spoke about the change of fortunes after the General Election.
“It only happens in Kenya that in our last election, the opposition leader became the government candidate, and the sitting deputy president became the opposition, candidate,” he said.
Ruto went on to make fun of beating Kenyatta’s preferred candidate Raila Odinga, rendering the then-president into an opposition leader.
“The opposition candidate won the election and the sitting president then handed over power to his deputy. And went ahead to become the leader of the opposition party. That only happens in Kenya,” Ruto said.
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Ruto claims that the 2022 general election marked a turning point for Kenya because it was peaceful and the competing parties disagreed and agreed on significant subjects.
“The ethnic configuration that always informed our politics was not there. We had both sides presenting a national face in their formation,” he added.
Talks of President William Ruto’s strained relationship with his predecessor took centre stage in the Prayer Breakfast aimed at reconciling Kenyans.
“The last prayer breakfast here was a very toxic affair full of tension and hatred. The President (Ruto) could not sit at the same table with his boss,” Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua remarked, applauding his boss for embracing forgiveness.
“Many of us who work around him have great difficulties with that approach but along the way, he has persuaded us that reconciliation is the way to go for the betterment of this country.”
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