In a rare moment of casualness, President William Ruto playfully broke protocol on Thursday when he asked his security detail to step aside and allow the crowd to approach him after some officers attempted to forcefully push away the crowd.
The incident occurred after Ruto laid the foundation stone for the Engineer Modern Market in Kinangop, Nyandarua County. The President told off his security detail, who were attempting to prevent the public from getting close to his motorcade.
Officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service, dressed in their ranger uniforms, had initially blocked the eager residents who wanted to meet and listen to Ruto speak.
One of the officers at the venue was seen slapping some of the residents who tried to get closer before Ruto intervened.
"You soldier, leave the citizens alone; let the citizens come. They came for a meeting," Ruto said, to the applause of the hundreds of citizens who had gathered at the venue.
Soon after, the excited crowd passed the temporary barricade set up by the KWS officers and other officers from various agencies.
Ruto was on his third day of the Mt Kenya working tour, where his reception stirred mixed reactions from both politicians and residents, partly due to his perceived differences with his former Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
Earlier, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah endured a hostile reception after he was heckled by an irate crowd in the presence of the President.
In videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke, a discontented crowd could be seen openly protesting Ichung’wah's address with jeers and whistles, briefly halting the lawmaker's speech.
"Let me tell you, no one can shout me down. I cannot be intimidated," Ichung’wah could be heard saying after the first round of heckling.
Before handing over the microphone, Ichung’wah fired a warning to the crowd, stating, "I want to tell you, President Ruto, that here in Ol Kalou and the whole of Nyandarua, no one can intimidate me."
Meanwhile, during the tour, Ruto announced the gazettement for the establishment of Nyandarua University in Nyandarua County, which is set to admit students by September this year.
Speaking during his third-day tour of the Mt. Kenya region in Ol Kalou Town, Nyandarua County, Ruto revealed that the government had given the go-ahead for the establishment of the institution.
