(KDRTV) – Dennis Itumbi is one of the most celebrated bloggers in Kenya. Itumbi is so good at what he does on social media. But sometimes good people do bad things.
Deputy President William Ruto’s tweet, distancing himself from the woes facing former Sports CS Rashid Echesa, had Itumbi’s writing all over it.
The DP, while admitting that Echesa and the foreigners had visited his Harambee Annex Office on the day he was arrested, argued that the deal was not struck in his office.
Ruto appeared to be shifting blame to other government offices, arguing that Echesa had access to the Department of Defense(DoD).
We don’t know what message the DP was trying to pass but the media and blog just picked one part of the tweet: Echesa had been to the office with two of the victims he was planning to scam.
So Ruto was admitting that his office was at the centre of the scandal.
ODP does NOT procure for any ministry/department. Question:other than 23min in Annex,for months,which government offices involved in the 'tender' did the scammers visit? Did they access DOD? Who facilitated? Who did they meet? Get the truth.Forget the sponsored NONSENSE in media
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) February 16, 2020
Did Ruto need to issue such a statement? The best he could have done would have been to keep quiet and wait for relevant authorities to conclude investigations.
The scandal has not only tainted Ruto’s image but might also threaten his political career. After realising that his office could have been used to swindle people, Ruto should have issued a strongly worded statement, telling Kenyans the measures he has taken to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen again in future.
He ought to have strongly condemned everyone involved in the scandal (if not himself), called for investigations and promised to punish any of his staff who would be found guilty. But he can’t do this because for him everything is political malice.
Now everyone including Charity Ngilu is calling for the DP to step aside. Ngilu of all the people. How many scandals has she survived?
Apart from tweeting, Itumbi should take a few courses on crisis management because he has failed his boss terribly.