UPDATE: Deputy President William Ruto has surfaced, following his no-show at the beyond zero half marathon, he had joined worshippers at the Catholic Church of Uganda Martyrs Kibirichia Parish, Buuri, Meru County.
The DP steered clear of the beyond zero campaign from which he was conspicuously missing for the first time since its inception, opting to send out a bible verse.
"Isaiah 40:31: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint," he posted on twitter.
It is often stated that where there's smoke, there's fire. This seems to be the case regarding recent statements by various political analysts such as Mutahi Ngunyi, that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have had an irreconcilable falling out.
The beyond zero half marathon that was held on Sunday, March 8, further fueled this theory, as DP Ruto opted to skip the entire event.
This was unlike the country's second in command, who's love for fitness is an open secret. He has been an active champion of the first lady's campaign ever since its inception in 2014.
In 2015, Margaret 's campaign raised Ksh46 million, with the Ministry of Health donating Ksh3 million while the Deputy president donated Ksh17 million.
Ruto and his wife have been ever-present at the beyond zero half marathon through the years, except in 2017 when the event was canceled, with the first lady stating that her campaign was being used as a political weapon, opting call off the entire event for that particular year.
During the same event in 2019, the DP ran a remarkable 21km and President Uhuru - who was waiting for him at the finish line, gave him a warm embrace.
Flash forward to the latest event and the DP nor his wife were anywhere to be seen, raising several questions over the alleged rift between the Jubilee Party leaders.
The First Lady was the only one present at the finish line to give her husband a hug and a kiss after he completed his 2km route of the marathon.
Uhuru seemed ill-prepared to tackle the tough course, donned in blue jeans and a white t-shirt, he ran alongside Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and his Machakos counterpart Alfred Mutua.
This was consistent with the promise he made last year that he would indeed take part in this year's event in solidarity with the noble course of ensuring zero maternal deaths.
Interestingly, Uhuru had taken up the challenge from his deputy in 2019 and vowed to compete in this year's edition of the half marathon.
“I will compete next year. I would have preferred to do the 2km, but maybe five or even 10. Let us see if my brother William will defeat me, he announced amid laughter from the crowd.
To further add to the speculation, the DP has since taken to twitter to honour the International Women's day, opting to steer clear of the first lady's event.
"Women are vital players in the progress stability and development of our society; they are engines of the enhancement of livelihoods, and prime initiators of growth and poverty reduction," his tweet read in part.
On March 1, while on the set of Anne Kiguta's Punchline show on K24 TV, political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi had stated that the DP and his boss's relationship had come to a bitter end.
"If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck," he argued.
Here are a few photos and a video of the 2020 beyond zero half marathon:
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