President Kenyatta ends speculation on whether he will attend Ruto's swearing-in ceremony

President Kenyatta ends speculation on whether he will attend Ruto's swearing-in ceremony

President Uhuru Kenyatta and President-elect William Ruto at State House, Nairobi. PHOTO| COURTESY

President Uhuru Kenyatta has confirmed that he will attend the inauguration of President-elect William Ruto to officially hand over power to the incoming Head of State.

Addressing the Nation from State House Nairobi after a surprise meeting with Ruto, Kenyatta, for the first time since the elections, also congratulated his deputy on the election victory.

"As a hallmark of our democracy, I will tomorrow, before God and my fellow countrymen, hand-over the instruments of power to our new President at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani. With that the Fourth Administration will come to an end and the tenure of the Fifth Administration will begin," said President Kenyatta.

He added: "My entire family and I join all Kenyans in wishing our very best to our next President, Dr. William S. Ruto, and in extending to him our warmest congratulations for receiving the mandate of Kenyans to lead us as our Fifth President."

The President's address brought to an end weeks of speculation on whether he would attend Ruto's swearing-in ceremony.

Since Ruto was declared the winner of the August 9th Presidential election and his win upheld by the Supreme Court, Kenyatta was yet to recognise him as the duly-elected leader. He instead maintained that his preferred leader was Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

Last week, speaking in an interview with CNN, Ruto said President Kenyatta had not found it fit to congratulate. Asked why he thought so, Ruto responded: "Maybe he's a bit disillusioned or maybe he's unhappy that I defeated his candidate, but that is the nature of politics."

Prior to the Monday meeting with his deputy at State House, speculations were rife that Kenyatta might choose to skip Ruto's swearing-in ceremony to avoid any embarrassing scenes at the event.


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Uhuru Kenyatta William Ruto Kasarani Swearing-in

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