Ruto: Surely, can you really slap the president?

Deputy President William Ruto has denied claims that he almost slapped his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, during a heated exchange.

The DP’s denial comes after a viral video of him allegedly confessing to almost slapping Uhuru surfaced.

But in an interview with KTN News on Thursday evening, Ruto owned up to the clip saying his words directed to the president were taken out of context. He said it was akin to figurative speech.

“Surely! Do you sincerely think you can slap the president, honestly? That was a figurative speech. The point I was trying to make to the audience was that the president was almost giving up…I told him, my friend, you are not going to do something [sic] like that,” Ruto said.

The DP wondered who would have the guts to slap a president, adding that he was expressing concern as a friend.

“That is what a genuine friendship is all about… Being there to encourage friends when they are about to give up,” said Ruto.

“A slap from a friend is better than a kiss from an enemy,” he added.

In the 90-second audio, Ruto is heard saying that after losing a petition at the Supreme Court in 2017, he pushed Uhuru to participate in the repeat presidential election.

This came after Uhuru stated that he did not want to participate in the repeat election ordered by the seven-judge panel led by retired Chief Justice David Maraga.

The video clip was played in public by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed on Sunday, July 3, 2022, while addressing residents of Homa Bay county.

He [Junet] claimed the ‘chemistry’ between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto was treading on shaky grounds since the latter struck a truce with ODM leader Raila Odinga.

In the clip, Ruto was reportedly addressing elders from the Kikuyu community who paid him a visit at his Karen residence in Nairobi.