Shame of Ruto's delegation snacking through UN address

 

A screengrab ofCabinet Secretaries William Kabogo, Hassan Joho and Attorney General Dorcus Odour snacking as President William Ruto made his speech at the UN General Assembly, New York. [Screengrab]

Someday in 2022, many giggled when President William Ruto indicated at a Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting that leaders needed lessons on etiquette.

Many indeed thought it was a rather funny proposition, more so coming from the Head of State.

Ruto then stated that some leaders could be a source of embarrassment to the government as they were way off the mark when it came to simple table manners.

"We are going to have a session to show you a bit of etiquette. At times we get embarrassed when senior people don't even know how to hold a spoon or a fork. Some people take things for granted,” a serious Ruto then said.

While proper etiquette covers almost every sphere of one's dealings with others, good table manners, as the president pointed out, are the most observed.

In his book, Social Etiquette and Manners, Mutea Rukwaru says table manners say a lot about a person's character. "Not knowing dining skills says a lot about a person. And not knowing it can be more damaging than you think, especially for people in high positions," he writes.

"If you haven't learnt to eat correctly, what else did you miss learning on the way to growing into the position you are?"

Three years later, that prophecy stood fulfilled, though perhaps the soft crunch of peanuts was a gentler embarrassment than expected.

If Africa does clinch that coveted UN Security Council seat, one thing is certain; the chamber will never run out of snacks.

Well, as President Ruto dazzled the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, September 24, championing Africa’s long-denied right to a permanent seat at the Security Council, the audience of global leaders nodded solemnly, some scribbling notes, others tapping on tablets.

But Kenya’s top brass, fresh from Nairobi, was on a parallel mission, ‘operation unlimited munch’.

President Ruto's delegation caught on camera snacking during UN address. pic.twitter.com/iVxzyrAIR4 — The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) September 25, 2025

Among the delegation were Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, Health CS Aden Duale, Lands CS Alice Wahome, Mining CS Hassan Joho, and ICT’s William Kabogo, who were caught on camera muching on what looked like peanuts. 

Collectively, they achieved what no African country has yet managed at the UN, making the assembly floor sound like a popcorn machine.

Four minutes into Ruto’s solemn lecture on global financial injustice, cameras betrayed the delegation’s synchronised hand-to-mouth routine, their jaws working harder than the IMF’s interest rates.

The cameras did not zoom in enough to show if the contents were macadamias, walnuts, or pistachios.

“The current global financial architecture punishes poor countries with high interest rates…” Ruto declared, while his team punished roasted cashews with equal conviction.