Former Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale has castigated the media for misleading Kenyans about roles of Deputy President William Ruto. Khalwale says that Ruto is the principal assistant of President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputises the latter in the execution of his duties in functions assigned by Articles 147 and 134 of the Constitution.
“He is not expected to hold any other state or public office. The media must avoid distortion of this cardinal constitutional doctrine,” said Khalwale uring a phone interview on Wednesday, January 23.
He was reacting to speculations in the media that Uhuru could have overlooked Ruto by elevating Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to a more strategic position in the executive as supervisor of development programmes.
Khalwale’s sentiments were echoed by Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa who urged Kenyans to stop unnecessary speculations about Matiang’i rising star. Barasa argues that Matiang’i will be reporting to the presidency to which Ruto is a member. He said it was the president’s mandate to assign his Cabinet secretaries whatever tasks he may wish adding that as a Jubilee legislator he had no problem with it.
But Lugari MP Ayub Savula (ANC) said the president was right in pushing Ruto to the periphery as the DP was involved in a lot in politics rather than pushing the Jubilee development agenda forward. He said the head of state means well for this country and was determined to ensure people get quality services.
According to him, Ruto has been launching numerous none existent projects across the country including a Technical Training College in Lugari, a project which has stalled. Uhuru’s gesture to elevate Matiang’i continues to elicit mixed reactions among Kenyans with some feeling pity for the DP.