Deputy President William Ruto has defended the appointment of Rashid Echesa, reportedly a Class 7 drop-out, as the Sports Cabinet Secretary, describing it as a move by President Uhuru Kenyatta meant to inspire Kenyans of all backgrounds.
He further stated that it was a way of bringing people from different sides of the political divide together, noting that Echesa had spent a long time working with the Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
"People are still asking if it is true Echesa was appointed. Others have questioned how such an unfamiliar person can be given a youthful docket but I want to assure all of you that Uhuru did not guess. Echesa is not a product of guesswork put a deliberate move.
"This proves the point that all of have can become anything they want to be as long as we work hard," Ruto explained at Echesa's homecoming in Mumias.
Ruto side-stepped the debate on Echesa's academic credentials, opting to affirm that his appointment would bring Kenyans together.
[caption caption="DP Ruto speaking at Echesa's home-coming in Mumias"]
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"We resolved as Jubilee government to build the bridges of friendship among all Kenyans despite their political affiliations. This is why we picked Echesa despite having worked closely with our competitors," he stated.
On his part, Echesa called on politicians from Western Kenya to work towards uniting the Luhya community.
10 bulls were slaughtered to welcome home the new Sports, Heritage and Culture CS.
During vetting by lawmakers, it emerged that Echesa, who was the last nominee to be vetted, could not clearly explain his level of education.
His curriculum vitae showed that he dropped out of school in primary and during the interview, he could not articulate his plans for the Ministry of Sports.
[caption caption="Sports CS Rashid Echesa during vetting in Parliament"]
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