- In November 2016, Deputy President William Ruto and Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru were not seeing eye to eye
- The NYS scandal had created a huge rift between the two leaders as they traded barbs over the matter
- Ruto was in attendance at Waiguru’s inauguration
There are no permanent enemies in politics.
In November 2016, Deputy President William Ruto and Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru were not seeing eye to eye over the National Youth Service (NYS) saga.
The situation got tense during that period after the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary linked DP Ruto’s aid Farouk Kibet to the theft of billions at the ministry.
The alleged link that tried to tie the DP to the scandal, infuriated Ruto who infamously stated that where else money had been lost, Ms Waiguru was ‘cat walking’ and talking 'a lot of English'.
“When a hairdresser registers 20 companies in a day and goes on to be paid close to a billion which she said she then carried them in sacks and then someone is cat walking and talking a lot of English… Give me a break!” said the DP.
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Waiguru had at that time responded to Ruto stating that she had no intention of engaging in a public spat with him as Kenyans could make their own judgement.
Fast forward to the 22nd of August 2017 and Waiguru is walking toe to toe with Ruto as she welcomed him at the Kirinyaga University grounds during her inauguration as the first female Governor in the county.
Pictures at the event captured the two in a cheerful mood shairing hearty laughs, far from the daggers drawn stances they traded in 2016.
Leaders at the event congratulated Waiguru and urged the DP to consider her as his running mate come 2022.
Perhaps the clearest indication yet to Kenyans that politics is never that personal.
