President William Ruto spoke at his first National Prayer Breakfast about how he was an outsider in the previous government, where he served as Deputy President, and how the tables changed after the elections.
Ruto made fun of his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, by recalling asking his boss for forgiveness at the 2022 prayer breakfast, which was conducted months before the General Election.
"I recall the previous prayer breakfast here being about the same time. I recall asking my ex-president pal for forgiveness. "Interestingly, we're talking about forgiveness and reconciliation again today," Ruto added.
The Head of State commented about the change in fortunes following the General Election, describing the last election as "hotly contested."
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"It only happens in Kenya that in our last election, the leader of the opposition became the government candidate, and the sitting vice president became the opposition candidate," he explained.
Ruto went on to mock Kenyatta's handpicked choice Raila Odinga, effectively transforming the then-president into an opposition leader.
"The opposition candidate won the election, and the sitting president delegated power to his deputy." "That only happens in Kenya," Ruto explained.
Mr Kenyatta is the leader of the Jubilee party and has recently stated that he will not retire from active politics.
According to Ruto, the 2022 General Election was also a watershed moment for Kenya, as competing parties disagreed and agreed on critical matters, but most significantly, it was peaceful.
"There was no ethnic configuration that had always informed our politics." "Both sides had a national face in their formation," he remarked.
The Prayer Breakfast aimed at unifying Kenyans focused on President William Ruto's complex relationship with his predecessor.
"The last prayer breakfast here was a highly toxic event fraught with tension and hatred." "The President (Ruto) couldn't sit at the same table as his boss," Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said, congratulating his boss for accepting the pardon.
"Many of us who are employed around him have great difficulties with that approach, but along the way, he has convinced us that peace is the way to go for the betterment of this country."
