State House spokesperson Kanze Dena has told Kenyans asking about President Uhuru Kenyatta's whereabouts that the Head of State is in the office and is working on a daily basis.
Responding to Kenyans who took to social media to ask the whereabouts of President Uhuru Kenyatta after the China trip, Dena said the fact that Uhuru has not been seen in public making speeches does not mean he is missing in action.
Rais Uhuru Kenyatta yuko ofisini kwake na anaendelea na kazi ya kustawisha Taifa na kuinua maisha ya Wakenya. Sio lazima aonekane kila siku hadharani. @radiomaisha — Kanze Dena-Mararo (@KanzeDena) May 13, 2019
The spokesperson said she was surprised with Kenyans’ claims that the President was missing in action yet he held an Executive meeting on May 3.
"I am shocked that people say they haven't seen the President since his return from China, yet on May 3 he had a meeting with executives from Global Fund and there was a statement to that effect," she said.
In a Monday morning interview with Radio Maisha, the spokesperson clarified that the President is in good health and there was nothing amiss about his minimal public appearances.
President Uhuru has not appeared in public engagements for two weeks, while his deputy William Ruto has stepped up hosting of delegations and nationwide tours.
Uhuru left the country on April 23 with Opposition chief Raila Odinga to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in China. They quietly returned on May 3.
However, Deputy President William Ruto has had at least one public function daily, from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday, Ruto was in Kakuma, Turkana for an inter-denominational service and later launched Turkana East Technical Training Institute. On diverse dates last week, he was in Karen meeting online content creators, members of African Divine Church and Embu leaders.
He also visited Wajir and All Saints Catholic Church in Komothai, Githunguri in Kiambu.
Uhuru’s absence from the public limelight has set tongues wagging, with politicians offering different explanations on what they think is the cause.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua defended Uhuru, saying “a president is a manager who needs time to hold office meetings, get briefings and manage the economy. I have heard people ask why he has not been seen in public since he returned from China. Uhuru is not quiet, he is busy. The work of a leader is not to just go everywhere, finding every excuse to campaign and politicise”.
“Uhuru is busy working because he has to do double work. Some of those who should be assisting him are busy playing politics, whereas our youth are struggling at home. Kenya needs managers who can change our country. That’s why it is time for a generational change and a new way of doing things,” Dr Mutua added.
Lawyer and global business expert Alutalala Mukhwana said the President and Raila owed Kenyans an explanation on what transpired in China when both went there recently.
“Public debt is the biggest problem in Kenya now. Uhuru needs to explain to us what happened in China in view of the rebuttal by China. We need to know how this will affect our economy and well-being,” Dr Mukhwana said.
He wondered why the President had not uttered a word on the conspiracy by MPs who awarded themselves millions of public money in house allowances and condemned his “inability to contain his Jubilee Party members”.
Hand in cancellation
“We heard that he had a hand in the cancellation of Ruto’s much-publicised Mt Kenya rally organised by some religious leaders. His inability to rein in the defiance by Mt Kenya MPs is baffling,” he said.
Constitutional expert Bobby Mkangi said Kenyans were used to having their President in their faces or in news every day. “In other jurisdictions, Heads of State and Government sit on the periphery and do their administrative work and have no incentive to make public appearances. I believe Uhuru has changed tack and might be busy doing his desktop job,” he said.
In the political context, the lawyer thinks Ruto has capitalised on the President’s absence and is using it to campaign. “The President is doing his last term and the DP has taken over the space and wants to be omnipresent, to be out there campaigning so that he is seen and heard to his political advantage in the 2022 presidential race.
