The Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, has finally explained why President William Ruto attended Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday despite sending National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula to represent him.
While appearing before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, Mudavadi revealed that the speaker had been sent to the Vatican as a fallback plan in case the President was held up in his China trip.
"The head of State was on a state visit to China, and one of the challenges was to process and finish the engagements of the state visit on time to be able to be in the Vatican, so the precaution was that in the event the logistics would become a problem, then there's a plan B," he stated.
"But the President made it out of his engagement, and I think we are covered in the event that he represented the country in the funeral service."
He also debunked reports that President Ruto's candle failed to light, stating that the funeral was held in broad daylight and no candles were lit.
In fact, he added that it would have been a security breach to have an open flame in the presence of so many world leaders.
This clarification came after Laikipia County Senator John Kinyua alleged that Ruto's candle failed to light during the event because he was an unwanted guest both in the Vatican and in Kenya.
"I was shocked in a way I have never been before. I was watching television yesterday and I saw our president, William Ruto, attending the Vatican burial," he stated.
"To my amazement, all the leaders who were seated at the front were given candles, but while the others’ candles lit up, his did not, and what surprised me even more was that he was politely asked to move a little backwards because his candle refused to light, while those whose candles had lit were moved forward, and that, my people, is a sign that come 2027, his candle will have been extinguished."
Ruto's detour to the Vatican after completing his China trip created a buzz online, as there had been no indications that he would go after selecting Wetangula to represent him.
Some chalked it up to his "globe-trotting" ways, while others, like his former Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, saw it as a demonstration of his distrust of his team
"I saw my brother William Ruto sending Speaker Moses Wetangula to the pope's burial to convey his condolences. But he was not satisfied, so he went there himself," Gachagua stated during an interview on Sunday night.
