When President Uhuru Kenyatta does not want to arouse public attention in the city, he chooses to travel incognito.
Since taking over the reins of power from his predecessor Mwai Kibaki, who had a notoriety of leaving behind a trail of gridlocks whenever he and his coterie moved around the city, Uhuru on several occasions does the opposite – concealing his movement.
The style has even baffled traffic police officers who are sometimes caught off guard by the unguarded President’s entourage.
Recently an officer was surprised when he discovered that the motorist he had stopped was the President himself.
The officer was part of a team mobilised to control traffic following a signal that Uhuru was supposed to move from State House to one of the five star hotels for a family meeting.
The overzealous officer was trying to stop the approaching unmarked car that was apparently carrying the President. The driver attempted to stop when flagged down then tried to drive past, but the officer stood firm.
When the vehicle stopped, President Uhuru rolled down the window identifying himself before he was allowed to proceed by the perplexed officer.
“Ni mimi ofisa, fungua (it is me officer, allow us to go),” the President was heard saying. Many police officers say they are happy that unlike during Kibaki’s tenure, they no longer spent many hours clearing roads for President.
Traffic cop stops unmarked car only to find it was the president
