US President Donald Trump is known for many things, from his brash and abrasive nature to cluelessness and insensitive comments, but one of his arguably best-known traits is the use of social media to express his opinions.
This has put him at loggerheads with other world leaders and earned him enemies within his government.
This habit has slowly crept into the country and has recently been seen in the Deputy President, expressing his displeasure on social media.
The Nation reports that before taking comfort in Twitter, the DP used to iron out issues with his aides or even gone ahead and ignore the stories. At other times, he would respond directly in public rallies and functions but not anymore.
Following in the footsteps of Donald, he has now taken to Twitter to express his displeasure with newspapers and newsrooms.
On August 14, 2019, he embedded a newspaper headline on a tweet dismissing a story by The Standard Newspaper which had referred to him and his followers as cronies.
On July 14, he also had a response to a front-page story of another newspaper. This was after the paper had reported that Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju was working as a strategist for Raila.
David Mugonyi, the DP's spokesperson, came to his rescue, defending his right to express himself.
“The DP believes in the Freedom of the Media. That includes the right to make mistakes but not to fabricate malicious falsehood to score some political goals. That is why he has not exercised his civil right to sue for defamation despite numerous fake news touching on him. He has, however, opted for the right to set the record straight through the interactive platform provided by Social Media,” DP's spokesman Mugonyi was quoted by the Nation Newspaper on Wednesday, September 4.
The Nation also reports that the DP has been seen to be harassing journalists of late, another favourite Trump habit.
On August 12th, there was an outpouring of grief from journalists claiming that his security team had mishandled them after the DP had brushed them aside. They had gone to cover an Ilchamus traditional wedding of DP Ruto’s aide Amos Ole Mpaka at Ng’ambo in Baringo South sub-county.
"You guys from the media are too many. Can you clear off the crowd in front of me? Allow the public to see me because I did not come here to address you, people,” Ruto divulged.
After that, the journalists were pushed out of the venue, leaving behind only those working with the Deputy President's Press Service. Some had their clothes torn, others punched and another had his camera broken while running.
Media Council of Kenya Deputy Chief Executive Victor Bwire stated that even though the DP enjoys the freedom of expression just like every other Kenyan, he should consider raising his complaints with the concerned agencies through official channels at his disposal.
“The DP is justified to raise issues with the media. It is within his right to do so. We would like to advise him to use existing legal structures to raise concerns. We would be more than ready to look at them,” stated Bwire.
