President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto have shared their Christmas season message to Kenyans filled with hope of a better 2024.
The video has the first lady reading from the bible and explaining the meaning of Christmas.
“Christmas is our time for us to be encouraged by the fact that when Almighty God willed to dwell among us, He chose a couple from a humble background as the home of our savior to remind us that our humble limited means are nothing but a starting point for better and greater things.” The First Lady explains in the video after reading a bible verse.
The President on his part called for love, brotherhood, sharing and prayers during the festive season.
"As we gather with our families and communities to celebrate the joyous occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ may we reach out to our brothers and sisters in need with a loving hand, a kind word, a warm meal and other gifts," and other acts of loving kindness and goodwill. Most of all, primarily and is very important that we pray for them.” The President stated in his message.
The First Lady urged Kenyans to “cherish the bonds that make us a resilient and vibrant nation” while looking forward to 2024 with hope.
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Ruto summed up his Christmas message urging Kenyans to look into the future with hope.
"Together let us look forward to a new year filled with hope, progress and shared prosperity. May the coming year bring you peace, joy and fulfillment." Added the President.
The first couple recently treated their neighbours in Sugoi to an early Christmas after hosting thousands at their Sugoi home.
“Spreading joy and festive cheer in Sugoi, Uasin Gishu County! The President and I hosted a heartwarming Christmas gathering to share the festive spirit and gifts with our wonderful neighbours.” The First Lady wrote.
The crowd that turned up walked away with Christmas gifts amid backlash from a section of Kenyans who questioned why the gifts had to be delivered in branded bags.
The gifts included packets of wheat flour, cooking oil and rice.
The gifts were met with backlash, prompting State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed to defend the President’s action, noting that sharing with humanity should be encouraged, and being mean is a bad thing.
"President William Ruto today sharing with his neighbours in Sugoi during this festive season. Unbelievable how some (whose sport is to find fault at everything as the President said) would criticize sharing with the people.
"If you're against sharing with your neighbours and humanity, you might want to check if your heart's still beating. Being mean is a bad thing, but it’s even worse to campaign against sharing with humanity," he wrote on his X account.
While many agreed that sharing is good as noted by Hussein, many opined that in yesterday's case the intention may have been more than just sharing as all the bags were branded prominently with photos splashed all over social media.