President William Ruto threw light jabs at his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, and Azimio leader Raila Odinga while officially opening the 13th Parliament.
Addressing the joint Parliament sitting on Thursday, September 29, President Ruto chided Uhuru and Raila, affirming that he had the last laugh in the prolonged political battle.
Using an analogy of the bottom-up model, the head of state recounted how he managed to rise up to the country's most powerful man despite being forced out of government.
"In summary, and this, by the way, only happens in Kenya. The sitting deputy president became the candidate of the opposition and the leader of the opposition became the candidate of government.
"As things would be, the opposition candidate won the election and became president, and the president became the leader of the opposition party. That is the beauty of our democracy," Ruto stated.
The joke tickled the members of parliament who burst into laughter. Nonetheless, the president reiterated that he would not single out those who did not support his bid.
"We are committed to serving all Kenyans in all wards of each constituency and all counties in every region throughout Kenya. After all, we all serve the same boss, the people and their sovereign interests are our operating principle and purpose," he noted.
Amid murmurs emanating from the opposition questioning the qualifications of his nominees to the Cabinet, and whether they complied with Chapter 6 of the Constitution, Ruto maintained that he will run an upright government and is open to being held accountable.
"I will run an administration that is open and transparent and my administration will rely on oversight from this House to make sure that the public gets value for every cent invested in every policy, project, and program," Ruto assured the Parliament.
Notably, President Ruto delivered arguably the shortest speech by a head of government while opening a parliament. Upon his conclusion, he received a standing ovation from the members present.
After his speech, the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula, and his Senate counterpart, Amason Kingi, adjourned their respective houses until Tuesday, October 4 at 2:30 p.m.
