Deputy President William Ruto took over PM office and VP house

By Jacob Ng’etich

NAIROBI, KENYA: After the Jubilee Coalition Victory and as fate would have it, the Deputy President William Ruto took over both the official offices of the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Harambee Avenue and the would-be official residence of the former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka at Karen suburb.

Initially, the Transitional Authority had earmarked the office opposite that of the President to the Governor of Nairobi County but the government later rescinded on the directive thus the Deputy President occupied it. Evans Kidero operates from City Hall, at the former mayor’s office. Previously, the VP’s office was at Jogoo House.

Ruto took over the office a week after the Supreme Court upheld the Jubilee Coalition victory. He settled on the second floor, exactly the same office Raila moved into in 2008 after the power-sharing deal between him and former President Kibaki under the National Accord.

Ruto also occupied the half a billion-shilling Deputy President’s residence in Karen suburb and became the first after former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka declined to move into the official residence of the Deputy President citing the short period of time before the General Election six months later. The DP occasionally visits the residence that is barely 2km from his palatial home in Karen which comprises of a main house with a master bedroom, three children’s bedrooms and two guest wings, state-of-the art office block, swimming pool and a security unit complete with an armoury, all on a ten-acre piece of land.

Though there is no clear role she is expected to play, two weeks ago Rachel Ruto the DP’s wife also took over the offices of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s wife Ida Odinga at NHIF building in Upper Hill.

Ida rarely visited the office and only held a few meetings there.