Ruto suspends public gatherings
Deputy President William Ruto’s itinerary for the next month is certain to offer an interesting alternative schedule after he announced on Friday the suspension of all public engagements citing concerns of the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country.
Via Twitter, the DP who has consistently made political trips around the country explained the rise of Covid-19 cases has become a serious source of concern making it necessary for the Government to take remedial measures to manage and contain the pandemic.
“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,” he explained.
The Covid19 infection rates have become a serious source of concern making it necessary for GoK to take remedial measures to manage and contain the pandemic. With the President's announcement of containment measures, I forthwith suspend all public engagement until further notice.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) March 12, 2021
His announcement came hours after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced new measures for containing the spread of the coronavirus in Kenya, which include a month-long ban on all political gatherings.
While noting an increase in the positivity rate of the virus in Kenya in the past few weeks amid what is believed to be the third wave of infections, President Kenyatta stressed that public rallies alongside other public and social gatherings are significant contributors to the spread of the deadly virus.
“The escalation or de-escalation of the containment measures regarding the prohibition of political gatherings is dependent on whether the national endeavor to break the chain of transmissions will have been achieved,” he added.
Besides addressing huge rallies, the DP is known to consistently visit churches and funerals, as well as host political delegations at his official residence in Karen, in what is perceived to be a strategy to popularise his 2022 presidential bid.
This past week, the DP has addressed huge rallies in Meru and Busia.