Kindiki, Ruku downplay spat after clash over stalled roads- Photos

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku have dismissed tensions following a viral video showing Kindiki sternly reprimanding Ruku over stalled road projects in Embu County.

In a post on X, Ruku shared photos of himself and the DP sharing a light moment during a State House dinner hosted by President William Ruto in honor of visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

“A light conversation with DP Kithure Kindiki on the sidelines of the State Banquet at State House this evening,” he captioned the photo, downplaying the earlier exchange.

The response follows a heated moment at a weekend meeting in Embu, where Ruku had urged Kindiki to fast-track the tarmacking of key roads in Siakago.

The Deputy President, visibly displeased, interpreted the appeal as veiled criticism.

“What you’re telling me here is the work of the MP. You have to realise you are in Cabinet,” Kindiki said, warning Ruku that ministers must uphold collective responsibility.

“You cannot be a minister, fail to sell the national agenda and then come to complain. It is not possible.”

Kindiki added in Swahili: “Ukitaka kulalamika, out. Kama umeshindwa kutetea watu, out. Kama unataka kutetea watu wa Mbeere wapate maendeleo, in.”

But in a twist on Monday, amid growing backlash, Kindiki further  dismissed the controversy as a misrepresentation.

“I have seen a desperate, mischievous, and utterly malicious twist suggesting I lectured and disrespected CS Geoffrey Ruku, my friend for years," he said in a statement.

“Falsehood is cheap.”

He clarified that his remarks were directed at former government officials, not Ruku specifically.

Still, reactions mounted online.

“The current government is full of theatrical leaders,” one X user wrote.

Another added: “You chose to pick a hot pepper and smear it in your eyes, why are you crying now?”