Deputy President William Ruto slammed the Standard Newspaper over misreporting published on their Saturday Newspaper.
The Newspaper’s cover page read, ‘BBI sets up Ruto Clash With Uhuru and Raila, ‘ a sentiment that did not augur well with the second in command of the armed forces.
Taking it a notch higher to express his frustrations he termed the newspaper as an avenue of fake news with no direction and tasked them with the job of finding out when he said so.
https://twitter.com/WilliamsRuto/status/1198114012770308098/photo/1
Editorial judgement for this headline may have been ostensibly decided after Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) task force led by Committee chairperson and Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji, said they had secured an appointment with State House to hand over the report to the President, a month after they compiled it.
“It is now our privilege to inform the public that an appointment to hand the report to the President has been arranged for Tuesday, November 26,” remarked Mr Haji.
Ruto went further ahead and shared a video on his twitter account to support his sentiments which portrayed the local daily in a bad light.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, November 19, the DP reacting to an opinion piece written on the Daily Nation Newspaper by Macharia Gaitho commented, “headlines are paid for, stories planted and span,” and that was the reason why he looked forward to twitter as a remedy or as a safer mode of communication.
https://twitter.com/WilliamsRuto/status/1196733958211420160/photo/1
The DP has steered clear of making reference to the President’s stand on the BBI report.
The rivalry between Ruto and Raila has been renewed by calls for the BBI report and a referendum, but it is a likely confrontation with Mr Kenyatta that is likely to change the political landscape.
While the duel has been fought on political platforms, Tuesday’s unveiling of the report will be the tipping point.
Before the Mount Kenya leaders’ meeting in Sagana last Friday, the President had maintained a well-observed silence and had shied away from voicing his opinion on the BBI report.
