President William Ruto was on Friday forced to briefly halt his speech in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa, after a man carrying a baby attempted to breach the Head of State's security and access the podium to have a word with him.
The man, who was carrying a baby on his back, emerged from the crowd as the President was addressing issues raised by local leaders during the ground-breaking ceremony of the Taifa Gas Plant at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The President posed to ask his security detail to allow the man to take a seat and wait for him to finish the function before attending to him.
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"Wewe wacha huyo jamaa aketi chini, wewe keti chini hapo ngojea aketi chini, eeh aketi chini hapo amebeba mtoto kwa mgongo aketi. Utaniona baadae wewe," Ruto said, hinting that the man, who was heard shouting "Mr President", wanted to access the podium.
"Ukiona mwanaume amebebeshawa mtoto mgongoni, ako na shida kweli so angoje," the President added amid laughter from the crowd.
Apparently, the man wanted to use the rare opportunity to present a case to the President, a trend that appears to be taking root in the country in recent years.
The President continued with his speech after the man was contained.
In his speech, President Ruto announced plans to remove all taxes on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) popularly known as cooking gas.
The country's first in command asserted that his administration will ensure that every Kenyan household has access to cooking gas by making it affordable.
Ruto also stated that the move would help in environment preservation by eliminating the use of wood fuel in Kenyan households. He also noted that the move must be fully implemented within the next three years.
"Kila nyumba katika taifa letu la Kenya itakua na mtungi wa gesi na tutahakikisha ya kwamba bei ya gas itapungua kwa sababu tutaondoa pia ile kodi yote ambayo imewekwa kwa mambo ya gas," Ruto stated.
Illegal gas cylinders
Additionally, the Head of State cautioned retailers using illegal cylinders to sell cooking gas and subsequently issued instructions to ensure that all illegal gas filling stations are eliminated, saying they pose danger to innocent members of the public.
"Hatuwezi kukubali mtu ahatarishe maisha ya wananchi kwa sababu ya kuenda kufill gas na mtungi ambayo si yake na kutumia mbinu ambazo si halali, so we must get rid of all illegal sellers of gas, we must make sure that we eliminate all illegal filling stations," he added.
