DP Ruto’s aides should stop handling his security casually

Deputy President William Ruto at a past event in December 2019 in Marsabit County. [File, Standard]

The provisions of the Constitution stipulate that the presidency is composed of two holders - the president and deputy president.

Though the law explicitly states that the Head of State is a symbol of peace and unity, the DP is ranked as the principal assistant to the president.

Going by this, it is, therefore, clear Deputy President William Ruto is holding a very critical position.

 I was taken aback when I heard that Ruto had secretly jetted out of the country to Khartoum, Sudan in the day President Uhuru Kenyatta shuffled his Cabinet and fired Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri.

The media reported that the DP was accompanied by only four close aides and was there to learn more about chicken farming projects as he planned a rollout of more similar projects as part of expanding his investments.

To succeed in this, he was looking forward to partner with the chicken farmers who were the leading players in selling the poultry products.

But some Kenyans believed that the media did not get the full story. The DP is a senior politician and he has kicked up his campaigns to succeed President Kenyatta in 2022.

Therefore, there was no way you would expect him to only focus on chicken matters.

He may have met his political friends in Sudan and discussed with them his candidature and the support they can extend to him.

Earlier, the DP had travelled to Uganda where he held talks with President Yoweri Museveni. Kenyans have over the years distanced themselves from the leadership in Uganda and Sudan.

In the eve of Christmas last year, the media also reported that the DP quietly left the country for Namibia and Botswana.

This created the impression that his aides did not follow the right channels to inform the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination about his travel plans.

If this was true, one would want to know what they were up to. It is worth to recall that Interior PS Karanja Kibicho had earlier asked the DP’s handlers to stop running a parallel office organising for the DP and instead be informing his office about his itineraries.

Then PS revealed that the office charged with providing security to very, very important persons (VVIP) in the Office of President had not been informed. However, they hurriedly mobilised and deployed officers to protect him.

A time has come for the Ruto’s aides to stop handling DP’s security casually and instead liaise with the State. This will help to end the security lapses and scares that have been reported in the past. I hope the DP will advise them to follow the right channels. 

Joseph Ndonga is a political analyst and blogger