The portrait of President William Ruto has been removed from the Siaya county assembly chambers.
Only two portraits have been left pinned to the wall- Governor James Orengo’s and that of county assembly speaker George Okode.
Initially, President Ruto's portrait was pinned inside the chambers together with those of Okode and Orengo.
This was shortly after the swearing-in of all the three leaders in their respective positions.
The portrait was first seen in the chambers on October 11, 2022, when Governor Orengo officially opened the third county assembly of Siaya.
The exact date the portrait was removed from the chambers remains unclear.
According to the Constitution of Kenya, no law forces anyone to hang the President's portrait in their offices or business premises.
However, it is a tradition in most countries that the portrait of the head of state be placed in offices and business premises.
In Kenya, the tradition has been actively practised since the first administration of founding President Jomo Kenyatta.
Reacting to the issue, acting Siaya county assembly clerk Eric Ogenga said the portrait was removed on grounds of being old.
"We procured new and better ones. There is no malice as those are things that are normally done," Ogenga said.
He said new portraits have been procured and are now in the store and they will be placed in the chambers soon.
The Star noted that the portrait that Ogenga said was old had a Kenyan flag in the background, just like the new-generation portraits that President Ruto adopted upon assuming office last year.
Ogenga said that only the President's portrait was old, necessitating the need to remove it awaiting the procurement process.
Siaya is dominantly an opposition zone led by ODM boss Raila Odinga.
Of the 30 wards in Siaya, 28 are being led by ODM MCAs. Even with the ongoing bipartisan talks in Nairobi, Raila has maintained that the current presidency is illegitimate.
Not so long ago in 2016, the first governor of Siaya, Cornel Rasanga, removed the portrait of then-President Uhuru Kenyatta from his office.
Rasanga went ahead to urge other governors in counties then headed by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) to follow suit.
Rasanga had argued that he did not recognise the presidency of Uhuru.
He wanted the portrait replaced with that of Raila who was the leader of CORD.
Then State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu argued that there is no legal action that can be taken against people who pull down portraits.
Article 9 of the Kenyan Constitution lists national symbols as the Public Seal, the National Flag, the National Anthem, and the Coat of Arms.
Soon after assuming office in September last year, President Ruto unveiled a new portrait with the Kenyan flag in the background.
Former presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta had portraits with clear backgrounds.
Meanwhile, a nominee for the youth, gender and social services chief officer docket Dr Nicholas Kut was on Monday approved by the Siaya county assembly.
Commenting in support of the adoption of the subcommittee report that sought to have Dr Kut approved, East Gem MCA Seth Baraka said that he was fit for the position.
