An interesting scene unfolded when a crowd gathered at a rally by President William Ruto in Tharaka Nithi walked out while the Head of State watched.
The incident, which took place on Friday, April 4, occurred when Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung’wah rose to address the crowd.
Footage obtained by Kenyans.co.ke shows the people gathered at the rally beginning to disperse immediately when the Majority Leader started to speak.
Interestingly, when Ichung’wah was about to speak, the display was wide-angled, but as the incident began to unfold, the camera zoomed in, solely focusing on Ichung’wah.
This, perhaps a move to conceal the magnitude of the incident, did not do enough, as the latter angle still captured the crowd dispersing.
While this unfolded, Ichung’wah seemingly remained oblivious to the situation and continued speaking to the people who stayed on.
The latest incident comes just a day after Ichung’wah, accompanying Ruto on his Mt. Kenya tour, encountered a hostile reception when he was heckled by an irate crowd in the presence of the president.
Ichung’wah was among the dignitaries accompanying Ruto during the launch of the Last Mile Connectivity project at Ol Kalou Town, as Ruto continues to unveil state projects in the Mt. Kenya region.
In videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the discontented crowd could be seen openly protesting Ichung’wah's address with jeers and whistles, briefly halting the lawmaker's address.
"Let me tell you. No one can shout me down. I cannot be intimidated," Ichung'wah can be heard saying after the first round of heckling.
Ichung'wah, seemingly overwhelmed by the jeers from the mammoth crowd, gave in and passed the microphone back, maintaining he was above intimidation.
The heckling could have potentially spelled greater doom for Ruto as a late night meeting on Thursday between outgoing Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku and Embu MCAs prevented further chaos from occurring as Ruto was set to tour Embu today.
Reports had indicated that Ruto’s visit was to be disrupted after members of the MCAs reportedly threatened to disrupt the visit as a form of retaliation against Governor Cecily Mbarire.
The angry MCAs claimed that they had been excluded from the planning of the President's visit, and to express their frustration with the governor, they had vowed to cause chaos and disrupt the meeting, potentially tarnishing its success.
Following the meeting, the MCAs reaffirmed their support for the President’s visit, reversing their earlier stance.
