Ruto Reacts After Uhuru Bans Political Rallies for 30 Days

Deputy President William Ruto has suspended all public engagements in light of President Kenyatta’s ban on political gatherings.

Ruto, who has been crisscrossing the country, said the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the country has “become a serious source of concern.”

“The Covid-19 infection rates have become a serious source of concern making it necessary for GoK to take remedial measures to manage and contain the pandemic,” Ruto said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

“With the President's announcement of containment measures, I forthwith suspend all public engagement until further notice.”

Earlier in the day, Ruto took his hustler empowerment campaign to Busia County, where he held fundraisers to support 10,000 boda-boda riders drawn from Funyula and Budalang’i sub-counties.

“Every hustle matters. This is the principle behind our bottom-up economic approach. The more focus we give to small businesses, the more they succeed and the better for our economy and society,” Ruto said.

In his address on Friday, President Uhuru said the country was experiencing a third COVID-19 wave and announced a raft of measures to contain the spread of the disease.

He imposed a 30-day ban on all political gatherings and extended the nationwide curfew by a further 60 days.