State House official linked to dramatic anti-Ruto meeting

Tony Mukere

June 9, 2019 9:46 AM

2022 politics heating up

File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta with DP William Ruto

A State House official was among top government officials who sponsored a heated meeting convened in Nyeri County on Friday that was used to attack Deputy President William Ruto.

The Nation on Sunday quoted its sources indicating that the meeting cost more Sh10 million to organize which came from officials believed to have a close ear of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Apart from the official based at State House, a powerful Principal Secretary and a wealthy Senator from the Mt Kenya region are also said to have hand a hand in the high-profile meeting.

The Nyeri meeting was attended by more than 2,000 elders from the Kikuyu Council of Elders (KCE) who warned Deputy President William Ruto against early campaigns.

The elders went ahead to accuse Ruto of disrespecting the President by campaigning in the Mt Kenya region despite the head of state directing leaders to shun the succession debate.

At one point, the meeting turned dramatic after the elders started hitting out at Ruto’s allies in Mt Kenya region including Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, and Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.

A group of youths allied to one of the elders, Simon Gitahi, attempted to disrupt the meeting, saying the elders were unfairly attacking the DP.

Gitahi and his group were quickly ejected from Kabiruini grounds as police officers quickly took charge and allowed the meeting to continue freely.

The meeting was yet another pointer of the perceived cold relations between Kenyatta’s camp and that of his deputy William Ruto.

Tony Mukere