• Senior government officials said DP William Ruto will not be allowed to travel out of the country without written permission from President Uhuru Kenyatta from now on.
• State applied directive issued in March 2020 barring all non-essential trips by state officers.
Image: COURTESY
Senior government officials on Tuesday said Deputy President William Ruto will not be allowed to travel out of the country without written permission from President Uhuru Kenyatta from now on.
The officials said the State House issued the new orders soon after Ruto returned from Zanzibar two weeks ago.
They asked not to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media on the issue but are aware of the instructions.
"We have been informed that we should not allow him to travel and our ambassadors should not arrange any foreign visits unless the head of state has approved them in writing," a senior official said.
Ruto on Monday was blocked from travelling to Uganda by Immigration officials who said he did not have clearance from his boss, President Kenyatta.
"It is normal practice for senior government officials to seek clearance from their superiors anytime they are travelling," one official said.
"It is also normal practice for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be informed when the DP or any Cabinet Secretary or PS is travelling to any destination so the ambassador of that country is aware."
Another senior state official said, "As long as he is a public figure, as long as he is the Deputy President, that is a requirement."
With about one year to the next general election on August 9, 2022, the wedge between Uhuru and Ruto is rapidly expanding.
The two are not on speaking terms. In fact, the President is rallying the opposition to unite and vanquish the DP.
On Tuesday, furious Ruto allies accused the President of taking revenge against his deputy for his rising political stardom, including victories in recent by-elections.
“The President has blocked the DP from performing his official duties and now he is blocking him from his private engagements. This is a ridiculous show of deep insecurity and tactlessness," Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said.
Some analysts have raised the red flag that the deteriorating relationship between Uhuru and Ruto is dangerous.
“The bad blood between the President and his deputy is threatening the prospects of an amiable and smooth transition. It begs the question: If Ruto wins, will we see a shameful spectacle like the Moi-Kibaki transition?” governance expert Javas Bigambo asked.
According to the law, the President should hand over the instruments of power—a sword and the Constitution—to the president-elect.
In 2002, the transition was chaotic and the crowd humiliated then-President Moi as Mwai Kibaki was sworn in.
However, political analyst Herman Manyora says a smooth transition must be the norm.
"Kenya is a democracy and we expect a smooth transition of power regardless of who wins. That is the Kenya we want. We don’t want the Kenya of 2007,” Manyora told the Star.
It has also emerged a biotech factory commissioned recently in Uganda by President Yoweri Museveni in Ruto's presence could be at the heart of the DP's latest falling-out with Uhuru.
Sources said the factory was initially to be built in Kenya.
A team of investors comprising Turkish, American, Russian and German nationals had landed in Nairobi in February. They were pitching to build a biological drugs and mRNA vaccine manufacturing factory.
Government insiders have told the Star the businessmen visited all the relevant state offices seeking approvals but were frustrated by bureaucratic red tape.
Disappointed by the ensuing events, the investors scouted for another country within the East African Community and settled on Uganda.
They then approached a businessman from Rift Valley who has close ties with Ruto to persuade the DP to link them up with Museveni.
Ruto reportedly reached out to Museveni with the idea, which the Ugandan president is said to have accepted. A deal was secured in April.
On July 6, Ruto landed in Uganda at Museveni's invitation for the groundbreaking ceremony of the biotech manufacturing facility in the central Ugandan district of Wakiso.
Ruto was quoted by Ugandan media as commending the pharmaceutical company for opting to invest in Africa, more so East Africa.
On Tuesday, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who was among the group of businessmen and politicians accompanying Ruto on the aborted trip, defended Harun Aydin, a Turkish national who was part of the team.
According to a manifest, whose leakage to the public is a concern, Dr David Bett, Dr Eric Ruto, MPs Ndindi Nyoro, Benjamin Tayari, and Elija Ronoh were also due to travel with Ruto.
A section of the media and bloggers have linked Aydin to criminal activities.
Sudi, a close confidant of the DP, said if indeed Aydin was of questionable character, the Kenyan security apparatus, as well as Ugandan authorities, would have flagged the businessman.
“To the doubting Thomases, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is not a kid to deal with someone of questionable repute.
"You can use your diplomatic connections and enquire from Ssebo [Museveni) himself the kind of interest he has in Uganda. Stop being stupid and minding other people's business,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
At the same time, a blame game has ensued within the DP’s circles amid assertions powerful people around Ruto have taken over the protocol job.
Some people grumble their lack of coordination may have caused the mess at the Wilson Airport on Monday.
Leaders have sharply disagreed on whether Ruto should be cleared before travel.
A September 2017 directive by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua listed Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, officers in ministries, chief executives of parastatals, and chairmen of parastatal boards as among officials who must be cleared.
“This is to notify you that it has been decided until further advised otherwise, that no government official will travel outside the country without the clearance of the President,” Kinyua said.
The notice to all CSs, the Attorney General, all PSs and copied to the director of the NIS and the director of Immigration had no express restrictions on the DP.
The government's decision to stop Ruto from leaving the country for Uganda has drawn varied reactions.
Whereas some said the move was in order, Ruto’s allies said the event was part of a larger scheme to diminish their leader ahead of 2022.
National Assembly Minority Chief Whip Junet Mohamed and Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang' said that it's standard procedure for the DP, Cabinet Secretaries and PSs to seek travel approval from the President through the Secretary to the Cabinet.
"It’s the procedure. Being the DP does not mean you are above the President. You must get approval from your boss," Junet said.
Junet and Kajwang', both confidants of ODM leader Raila Odinga, dared Ruto to resign if he wants to live a private life.
"He can resign if he feels he’s so frustrated that he cannot do his private things," Junet added.
However, Soy MP Caleb Kositany, an ally of the Deputy President, linked the Monday events to the humiliating defeats of the Jubilee Party in recent by-elections.
Garissa Township MP Aden Duale, also a key DP ally, said it was against the Constitution to stop Ruto from flying to Uganda.
He said Uhuru’s administration has disregarded Article 147 of the Constitution, which entrenches the constitutional functions and duties of the Deputy President.
“These functions were first taken away from him and denied in complete and blatant disregard for the Constitution,” the former Majority leader said.
The Constitution provides the Deputy President shall be the principal assistant of the President and shall deputise for the President in the execution of the President's functions.
The law says the DP shall perform the functions conferred by the Constitution and any other functions of the President as the President may assign.
Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss said Monday's incident was part of concerted efforts to humiliate the Deputy President.
“The regulation that one must seek clearance is for it to be known where you are going, just in case you might be needed back in the country,” she said.
She added, “It was known where he was going. The only time you would not want him to leave is when the head of state is not in the country.
"But we knew the President was in the country. At this rate, they will soon tell the DP he needs clearance to go to Sugoi.”
Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka, who was once Foreign Affairs assistant minister, said there is a procedure to follow when a senior government official is leaving the country.
“Even for the President, there is a procedure that is followed, also when he is coming back. The reason why government officials report when they travel is so their whereabouts are known.
"The other thing would be: is the head of state comfortable with a visit to a neighbouring country,” he said.
“Anyway, Uhuru's team is best placed to explain why Ruto was not allowed to leave,” he stated, adding that Kenyans are asking questions over the DP's frequent trips to Uganda.
(Edited by V. Graham)