President William Ruto has for the first time revealed the details of the immediate brief he received after assuming office as the president.
Ruto on Saturday disclosed that he was given express instructions about picking individuals to head some four critical and sensitive institutions.
The offices are that of the Inspector General of Police, Interior Ministry, Director General of National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF).
"I had been told you need to be careful with who you appoint to these offices because they mean a lot and they are very sensitive," Ruto said.
Ruto made the revelations during the military honours and memorial service for the late General Francis Ogolla at Ulinzi Sports Complex.
The President explained that he was told not to fear embracing tribalism when appointing the holders of those offices for safety reasons.
"I had even been told, please don't be shy in appointing members from your own community, you will be safe," he revealed.
Ruto did not, however, reveal the particular individuals or teams that gave him the pieces of advice.
As is the norm, a president-elect receives intelligence and security briefs from relevant security organs.
This includes the NIS, KDF, and the National Police Service.
The Assumption of Office of the President Act 2012 mandates public officers to provide required information to the president-elect.
The President-elect may, in carrying out preparations, request in writing for such information from a public officer as the President-elect may consider necessary.
Ruto was declared the president-elect on August 15, 2022.
While explaining circumstances that led him to appoint the late Ogolla as the CDF despite allegations of being part of a team that visited former IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati at Bomas to overturn the election results, Ruto pointed out that he made "a conscious and deliberate decision" that he would take a different trajectory as a country.
"...where merit, professionalism and competence must come before ethnicity," Ruto stated.
This, he said, propelled him into appointing Ogolla as the next CDF noting he deserved it.
"It is an appointment that I am very very proud that I made," he stated.
Ogolla succeeded General (Rtd) Robert Kibochi.
