Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized a section of government officials who used the presidential podium to make speeches during the flagging off of community health promoters on Monday, September 25, 2023.
While addressing officials at the event held at Uhuru Park, Gachagua while expressing disappointment, argued that all leaders who used the presidential podium to speak had breached protocol.
While indicating that he was using a different podium, the DP went on to stress that the podium is only meant for the president and that all those who had used it should have used a different one specifically designated for them.
However, the DP noted that he was excusing the behaviour because the president himself invited them to speak from the podium.
"I have chosen to speak from here because there has been a serious breach of protocol, the State podium is reserved for the Head of State, but I want to exonerate them because it is the president himself who invited them there. As a man who was in uniform, I politely declined the invitation by the president to break protocol opportunity and I will speak from here," he stated.
The DP added that President Ruto invited the leaders to the podium because he was still conditioned to humble beginnings and was still comfortable getting everyone else on the podium regardless of their status.
"You know those of us who work around the president have a very difficult task of overseeing the transformation of a hustler into a president and that is why the president is breaching protocol because it is very difficult to get the hustler out of him. He is quite comfortable to get everybody to use the podium," he stated.
Some of the leaders who used the podium include Prime Cabinet Secretary (CS) Musalia Mudavadi, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Health CS Susan Nakhumicha, CoG chair Anne Waiguru, CoG health committee chair Muthomi Njuki his National Assembly and Senate counterparts Robert Pukose and Jackson Mandago, and representatives from Unicef among others
