Seth Onyango @SethManex
A weekend incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has again brought into sharp focus the perceived political rift between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.
In the latest incident, the Head of State and his principal assistant failed to meet each other when the latter turned up to welcome his boss back home from a two-day official visit to Zambia.
The President flew back to Nairobi on Saturday at about 6pm and used the ordinary passenger arrivals terminal to exit the airport, leaving the DP who was waiting to receive him at the Presidential Pavilion stranded.
Exit route
According to sources familiar with the turn of events, it was not immediately clear what had prompted the Head of State to change his exit route and use the passenger terminal.
“The DP arrived a bit late at the airport hence the confusion. There was nothing sinister,” said a senior State official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Apparently oblivious of what was going on at the airside, Ruto waited at the pavilion only to be informed that his boss had already landed and was within the airport’s precincts.
The incident seems to have caught the DP off-guard and he ultimately left the airport without meeting his boss.
A visibly agitated Ruto, is said to have left JKIA ahead of the President who was still within the facility.
Yesterday, Ruto’s spokesman David Mugonyi denied claims that Uhuru had snubbed his deputy, dismissing them as “the work of idle bloggers”.
However, State House spokesperson Kanze Dena confirmed that indeed the President had used a different exit instead of the Presidential Pavilion but declined to divulge more details.
“The President used the passenger exit because he wanted to tour the new airport terminal,” she said, adding that she was not aware if the DP’s team had been informed about the change of plans.
Mugonyi termed as “fake news” claims that his boss had been snubbed, adding that the DP was not in Nairobi on Saturday. Ruto had earlier in the day presided over a funds drive in aid of African Inland Churches in Nyandarua and left at about 3pm by chopper for Nairobi.
Mugonyi said a note circulating on social media that Ruto did not meet the Head of State was the source of the misinformation.
“How can you see inside JKIA from traffic jam. I won’t respond to fake news,” he told People Daily by phone, declining to confirm whether or not the two leaders actually met.
Mugonyi said they had noted a trend by media houses targeting the DP. “This nonsense was started by some bloggers on social media and I can see you people have taken it up,” he added.
Another senior official in the DP’s office, said the incident may not have been premeditated but was merely a coincidence.
Officials said the President wanted to inspect various termini at the airport and see progress of various development projects funded by the government.
The President’s plane had touched down at the airport some minutes to 6pm when he suddenly decided to change his exit route.
By then, a host of senior security officials were present at the airside waiting to receive him. “They seemed to have been informed the President’s plane will land and dock at the main passenger terminal,” said a source.
Ordinarily, whenever the President returns to the country from a foreign trip, the DP leads government officials in receiving him back.
On Saturday, Uhuru walked through one of the terminals and came through the passenger exit as security chiefs who had received him followed.
By then, the presidential motorcade had left the airside to the arrivals area. Witnesses said more security personnel had to be deployed in the area to clear his way out. In about 30 minutes, the President had left for State House, without fanfare.
Eradicate poverty
Uhuru had left the country on Friday night for the inaugural National Economic Summit in Livingstone, Zambia. While in Zambia, the President said economic diplomacy offered the best opportunity to eradicate poverty and joblessness in Africa.
He called on those in positions of power to provide quality leadership to embrace economic diplomacy that delivers opportunities for growth and transformation.
“Economic Diplomacy in Africa offers an opportunity to focus on the entire ecosystem for driving the prosperity agenda for our countries,” he said.
