President Ruto’s portraits now available at Sh300
Portraits of President William Ruto are now available for purchase at Sh300 following his inauguration as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya on Tuesday.
According to government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna, the portraits can be collected from the Department of Information, 5th floor, Uchumi House, Aga Khan Walk, Nairobi.
The government has also said offices and individuals at the county and sub-county levels can get their copies from County/Sub-County Information Officers.
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The portraits have been captioned: His Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, C.G.H President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces.
President Ruto’s portrait that is different from those of all his four predecessors in design and quality. The portrait, unveiled on Tuesday during his inauguration at Kasarani stadium, has the Kenyan flag in the background – a design that mirrors a tradition adopted by American presidents since 1961.
In a break from tradition, President Ruto becomes the first head of state in Kenya to have the flag as part of his official portrait, whose quality is also the first three-dimensional (3D) model.
His predecessors Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta had a clear background in their official portraits, but Dr Ruto has taken advantage of new technology in photography to design his.
At the same time, the portraits of the former president Uhuru Kenyatta have already been replaced in most institutions and government offices following the change of leadership.
It is the norm in the country for government offices and institutions to have portraits of the sitting president, a tradition that has been in place since the era of President Jomo Kenyatta. However, there is no specific law that compels Kenyans to have specific portraits in their offices.
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In 2016, former Siaya County Governor Cornel Rasanga elicited debate in the country for having the portrait of the opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga in his office.
Mr Rasanga also asked leaders from the opposition party to display Mr Odinga’s portraits in their offices as a show of loyalty and honour.
The then government of Mr Kenyatta responded to Rasanga’s move by saying that no one is compelled to display the president’s portrait.
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