Uhuru locks Ruto out of State House meeting
President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. Photo credit: Courtesy

Uhuru locks Ruto out of State House meeting days after calling on him to resign from his government

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President Uhuru Kenyatta is now implementing bare-knuckle political tactics in his row with deputy president William Ruto.

Ruto was on Thursday February 18th locked out of State House meeting where Uhuru addressed Cabinet Secretaries, Chief Administrative Secretaries and Principal Secretaries.

The president was meeting top government officials to demanded the completion of projects, a key deliverable before his terms comes to an end next year.

Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua sat at the high table with president Uhuru in Ruto’s absence.

Matiang’i was elevated to a super minister who chairs a committee of the Cabinet that coordinates the implementation of government projects after Uhuru and Ruto fell out.

The Thursday meeting was the second time in seven months that Ruto was locked out of such a meeting with State House then saying Uhuru only wanted to use the Matiang’i-led team forum to lay out his vision for the second half of 2020.

The decision to lock Ruto out of the State House meeting also came just days after president Uhuru angrily called on him to resign from government during a public rally in Dagoretti.

Herman Manyora: Ruto should resign to save face or get impeached and lose everything

Uhuru told Ruto to quit if he’s not happy with his administration, he said the DP could not keep on criticizing his government yet at the same time remains part of that same government.

Uhuru called out his deputy for criticising the government for its failures while at the same time taking credit for its successes.

Ruto has become increasingly isolated in the government, he no longer attends Cabinet meetings or the exclusive club of the National Security Council.

The DP instead uses his time crisscrossing the country to campaign ahead of the general election, he will vie for presidency in 2022.