President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta will for the first time in over a year attend the same event since the latter handed over power.
The Office of the Fourth President of Kenya, on Friday, announced that Kenyatta arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo the same day ahead of the country’s President-elect Felix Tshisekedi’s swearing-in ceremony.
Of note, however, was the former Head of State’s choice to travel in a Uganda Airlines plane, a departure from the Kenya Air Force that he had been accustomed to since leaving office.
“President (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta has this evening arrived at N’Djili International Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ahead of the inauguration ceremony of the president-elect H.E. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo,” Uhuru press team announced.
In November 2022, two months after handing over the instruments of power to Ruto, the former President made a trip to DRC in a Kenya Air Force plane.
At the time, Uhuru was mandated by the East African Community to facilitate the peace process in DRC where the state was at war with rebels. Ruto had also sent a troop of 900 Kenya Defence Forces soldiers to offer backup to the country’s military
Ruto is also expected at the Martyrs Stadium in Kinsasha where the swearing-in ceremony is slated for Saturday.
Reports indicated that the Head of State departed Uganda, where he held a series of meetings including an Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) summit at around 3:00 pm.
At the event, Ruto and Uhuru will share the same space for the first time since the former’s swearing-in ceremony in September 2022. It remains unclear whether they will see eye to eye, especially with Ruto having continuously accused Uhuru of sabotaging the economy.
Whereas the ceremony will mark Ruto’s first time to attend Tshisekedi’s swearing-in, Uhuru attended the DRC President’s first inauguration held in January 2019.
The former President was the only head of state to attend the inauguration event despite the DRC Government inviting 17 others from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, Ethiopia Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, Sierra Leone and Haïti.
The 17, however, only sent representatives to the ceremony which took place at the state’s Presidential Palace in Kinshasa.
This year, 15 Heads of State are expected to grace the event alongside other dignitaries among them Opposition principals Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka. Raila and Kalonzo also attended the 2019 inauguration.
By DERRICK OKUBASU
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
