Is UhuRuto camaraderie back?

There was too much echoes from the past when President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto came face to face for the first in about two months. Echoes that got many excited and a few talking.

And when the DP walked to the podium Monday during the 57th Madaraka Day celebrations, there was a sense of de javu.

It was like the old good days; those formative days of their administration when they usually appeared in public dressed in matching suits and ties.

So was Monday, when the two once again attended the function, clad in black suits, white shirts and red ties, echoing yesteryears and exhibiting some camaraderie the internet was abuzz with supporters saying the pair may have buried the hatchet while others said it was the last act in the Jubilee plot.

As the speeches went on, the two would occasionally engage in a banter, then engage in a loud mirth which was however muted by the face masks they wore.

ANIMATED DISCUSSION

They were also captured dotting notes in a notebook, and exchanging them even at one point when they engaged in animated discussion.

“Things are really abnormal. Our life as a nation is upside down,” Mr Ruto said when he rose to invite the President to address the nation.
He appealed to leaders across the country to join and support the government efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic which has so far claimed 64 lives with another 1962 infected.

It was the first time the two leaders were appearing in together in at least two months. The last time they were together were at the same venue when the President called for a national prayer after the first case of coronavirus was reported in the country.

At that the body language between the two leaders was tense. The President neither recognised nor mentioned the DP by name, but he did for Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli, ODM leader Raila Odinga and even Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

The DP was full of praise for his boss, hailing the government for the measures tom combat the disease and expressed hope they will help overcome the disease.
“Your intervention has made every Kenyan part of the army that has lined to deal with the pandemic. I am confident the measures will help control the spread of the disease,” the DP said, in remarks directed to the President.

ENDURED CHALLENGES
The DP admitted that while governments and generations have endured challenges, the no generation in Kenya or government has endured the challenge thrown into the way of Jubilee government way than the one caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
“This celebration is unique. Schools are closed. So are churches and even business and millions of people are out of jobs. Our life as a nation is upside and down.” “I call on all leaders to work you and your government to mitigate the effects of the disease and minimize the spread as we work out on how to go back to normal.”

He said once the spread of the disease is controlled the government could explore ways of reopening schools, businesses, places of worship.

PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT

After the event, the DP acted as the dutiful principal assistant that was. He kept on the footsteps of the President the moment the final rendition of the national anthem. When the President to bid farewell the few invited guests, the DP was in tow.
When the President bowed to the guests, the dutiful deputy did the same. They then walked together in tow, talking animatedly about something only the two knew.
They then talked to their wives who were sitting on the upper floor of one wing of the building, bowed  and started an animated discussion, gestured and laughed loudly as the President’s aides watched.