Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, on Wednesday, June 7, revealed how his boss, William Ruto, defied his associates to promote a lady who removed his seat from former President Uhuru Kenyatta's table at the 2022 National Prayer Breakfast.
During the 2023 prayer event, Gachagua revealed that many of Ruto's allies wanted the lady reprimanded and punished after the Kenya Kwanza administration won the elections.
Ruto, however, got wind of the plans and directed the lady to be allowed to continue serving in her role and further promoted her.
According to the DP, Ruto argued that she was only a victim of circumstance and was following protocol.
He noted that Ruto had decided to seek reconciliation after ascending to power, shocking his allies.
"When we were trying to align people around the President, many people around us believed that the lady who removed the seat where the President was to sit, should be shown the door.
"When the President learnt about it, he stated that she followed protocol and was even promoted. Today, she works around the President," he added.
In the 2022 annual event, Uhuru and Ruto broke tradition as they sat at separate tables. Uhuru sat alongside Chief Justice Martha Koome and former Attorney General Kihara Kariuki.
Conversely, Ruto was paired with Attorney General Justin Muturi and Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, who served as National Assembly and Senate Speakers, respectively.
Gachagua also revealed that the Head of State extended an olive branch to government officials who locked him out of the official DP residence in Mombasa in January 2020.
"Most of us believed that those who threw out his belongings and that of his family should be shown the door, but that was not the case.
"Those of us who work around him had great difficulty with that approach. But along the way, he has persuaded us and we are all aligned," the DP divulged.
On his part, Ruto steered clear of Gachagua's revelation choosing to focus his speech on the 2022 General Election contest and the proposed Housing Fund.
"I remember asking for forgiveness from my friend, Uhuru. I want to thank God for the last election. It was a turning point in the politics of Kenya. It was an election that defied the ethnic configuration that always defines our politics.
"In our last election, the opposition leader became the government's candidate and the DP became the opposition candidate," Ruto remarked.
