President William Ruto's launch of the second phase of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme took an unexpected turn on Friday after a young woman walked onto the stage, asked for a hug and later delivered a spoken word performance that left both the President and the crowd entertained.
The light-hearted moment unfolded at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang'ata, Nairobi, where thousands had gathered for the disbursement of more than Sh3 billion to over 122,000 young entrepreneurs under the government's youth empowerment programme.
With a broad smile, the young woman confidently walked towards the President before politely asking, "Can I give you a hug?"
Ruto welcomed the request and embraced her, prompting loud cheers and laughter from the audience.
Sensing the excitement in the crowd, the President quickly injected humour into the moment.
"Hiyo hug haina mambo. Nyinyi wacheni bwana... si ni namna hiyo?" he joked, sending the audience into another round of laughter.
After thanking the President, the young woman asked if she could share something she had written years earlier during Ruto's presidential campaign.
"When you were vying for president, I wrote something, but you never got to hear it because I never had the platform," she said, explaining that it was a short spoken word piece.
Ruto immediately gave her the chance and invited her to perform.
What followed drew the attention of the packed arena.
As she recited, the audience responded enthusiastically with whistles, cheers, finger snaps and rhythmic chants, applauding her rhymes and delivery throughout the performance.
Before she could conclude, however, Ruto stepped in with another humorous remark.
"Asante sana. Tumpigie makofi huyu mrembo. Eeeei, kwani wewe ulikuwa umejipanga kiasi gani wewe? Naona kumbe ulikuwa umenipangia aya. Asante sana," the President quipped, once again drawing laughter and applause.
The interaction became one of the standout moments of the event, adding a lighter touch to an occasion largely focused on youth enterprise and economic empowerment.
The ceremony also featured music performances, dancing and interactions between the President and beneficiaries before the official launch of the second phase of the NYOTA business support component.
During the event, Ruto oversaw the disbursement of more than Sh3 billion to over 122,000 young entrepreneurs across the country, with each beneficiary receiving Sh25,000 in the second tranche of support, bringing the total assistance under the programme to Sh50,000.
The President also announced several measures intended to help the young businesses grow, including a proposed two-year business permit waiver for NYOTA beneficiaries, the creation of a dedicated financing product through government lending institutions and the establishment of a national NYOTA identification mechanism to ease access to government services and incentives.
