President William Ruto narrowly escaped a shoe aimed at his head, blocking it with his arm while addressing a large crowd on Sunday, May 4, in Migori County.
In a viral video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the Head of State can be seen blocking the shoe that flew his way, past security, and nearly hitting his head.
Earlier photos sent by the Presidential Communication Service (PCS) showed President Ruto in a small mounted dais surrounded by a large crowd.
His security, mainly drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU), formed a barrier around him. But since he was on a raised podium, his guards were level on the ground with the crowd to control them and stop them from reaching the president.
The president, who was in Migori County for a three-day working tour, was forced to cut short his speech briefly as he was speaking about lowering the cost of living.
Kenyans.co.ke has since established that the shoe was hurled as the president was addressing residents while on a development tour of Migori County, during which He launched and commissioned several projects, including a 298-unit Kehancha Affordable Housing Project in Kuria West, Migori County.
Prior to the bizarre incident, there were several pointers that the president's safety was likely to be compromised, besides the fact that his platform was fairly close to the residents.
Notably, as the president delivered his address, the crowd of hundreds appeared animated, with amateur footage from within the gathering capturing constant chatter and movement among the residents even as he spoke.
Secondly, the security personnel, who were several metres from the president, had a hard time containing an excited crowd who were eager to get closer to the Head of State. One officer immediately sprang to Ruto's defence the moment the piece of footwear was hurled.
Besides the Affordable Housing Project, the president also attended an Interdenominational Church Service at Kadika Primary School, Suna East Constituency, before opening the Suna West Sub County Office in Piny Oyie.
The incident mirrors the widely publicised incident from December 14, 2008, when then-US President George W. Bush was narrowly missed with a shoe thrown by an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, during a press conference in Baghdad.
Before being tackled and dragged away by security officers, the journalist somehow managed to hurl another shoe at the outgoing president, which also missed. Bush later made light of the incident, joking, “All I can report is it’s a size 10.”
