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DP Ruto suspends “hustler” rallies due to rising Covid-19 infections

By Amina Wako November 3rd, 2020 2 min read

Deputy President William Ruto has announced that he will reduce his public engagements until further notice.

This, DP Ruto said, was due to the upsurge of Covid-19 cases, which he said was a strong indication of a second wave of the virus that has so far claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Kenyans.

“The upsurge in Covid-19 cases strongly indicates that a second wave may be in the offing.For this reason I have decided to significantly scale down my public engagements until further notice.” he wrote.

In that regard, Ruto cancelled his weekend political engagements in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni counties.

“The empowerment meetings for this weekend in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni are postponed.” he posted.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe cautioned political leaders against risking the lives of Kenyans by holding huge gatherings where social distancing and other safety measures are not being observed.

Since President Uhuru Kenya eased a number of Covid-19 restrictions in September, political leaders led by the president, his deputy and ODM leader Raila Odinga holding huge gatherings where social distancing and other safety measures are largely ignored, and it is believed this has contributed to the fast spread of Covid-19 in the country.

Kagwe on Monday urged the political class to think about the lives of Kenyans when calling for such rallies.

“We want to urge the political class to please understand that as much as we have important issues in the country to deal with, we also have a higher issue to deal with and that is the issue of people’s lives. And that is our first and utmost responsibility. So before we start arranging political rallies please think about the impact…” said CS Kagwe.