President William Ruto’s powerful aide Farouk Kibet caused drama in Kisii County on Wednesday during the head of state’s tour of the region, when he appeared to chase Kisii Governor Simba Arati off the podium.
A clip circulating online shows Farouk confronting local leaders on the stage. President Ruto was on the podium and about to address the gathering, with Governor Arati, South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro and his Nyaribari Chache counterpart Zaheer Jhanda standing beside him.
In the footage, Farouk storms onto the podium and gives the three leaders a stern talking-to before ushering them off the stage as the President looks on. Ruto is then left alone on the podium and proceeds to address the crowd, with most of those in attendance dressed in orange caps and t-shirts.
It is not yet clear what prompted the confrontation or why the leaders were asked to leave the stage. Neither Farouk Kibet nor the affected leaders had publicly explained the incident at the time of writing.
Here is the video of the moment Farouk Kibet chased Simba Arati off the presidential podium.
https://twitter.com/a_m_media_ke/status/2120522593539076438/video/1
