Today, Wednesday, October 6, makes exactly seven years since President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over powers to Deputy President William Ruto to govern the country in an acting capacity.
It was in 2014 when the two top leaders were still having a good thing going on between them.
At the time President Uhuru Kenyatta was leaving the country as a civilian to attend a status conference at The Hague where he was to answer charges of crimes against humanity linked to the 2007/08 post-election violence.
Ruto began his three-day presidency rule with a ride in a ten-car motorcade to Harambee House, had a photo session, made an elegant Facebook post, and a peep in the official diary of President Uhuru, according to The Standard.
The second day into office, Ruto left his Karen Official residence and went straight into the President’s Office. That day, he did not step afoot at his former Harambee House Annex.
Before climbing on small stirs at the President’s office, Ruto had a chit-chat with a few people at the office’s entrance as he carried his jacket in his hands. All this time, he was surrounded by stone-faced elite Recee Unite Officer who guards the president.
After the small talk, Ruto reportedly walked into the building, walked past the reception, took the VIP elevator to the second floor, and walked majestically into the President’s Office.
At the office, Ruto found the President’s diary, opened it and went through a few pending assignments, and made a mental note to handle.
Soon after going through the diary, Ruto logged into his Facebook official page and wrote an encouragement note to his “president and boss” who was at The Hague at the time.
“UK (Uhuru Kenyatta), I stand with you as my brother, my leader, my boss, and my President. As we navigate strange and unprecedented paths, I reiterate our conviction that in time, all will be well and we will be vindicated,” he posted on his social media page as reported by a local publication.
His three days of the presidency was a clear sign of top trust between him and President Uhuru Kenyatta at the time.
The exciting thing about Ruto acting as the president at the time was that he had to perform the duty of a president and that of the deputy president at the same time.
He also made history as the second Deputy President to act as the Head of State in the absence of the serving president. The first deputy president to do so was former Daniel Arap Moi who acted as President following the death of President Jomo Kenyatta in 1978.
