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Uhuru gets a new Aide de Camp and Kenyans have a few things to say


President Uhuru Kenyatta has a new Aide de Camp barely a year after he acquired a new one.

The President Strategic Communication Unit on Tuesday tweeted a photo of the new ADC Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Stelu Lekolool,  drawn from Kenyan Navy, standing behind the president on his first public assignment.

The ADC is the military officer in ceremonial uniform usually standing behind the President.

The role is largely ceremonial because he does not do any protection duties. He is the personal assistant to the President in his constitutional position as the Commander-in-Chief.

The announcement was however a mismanaged affair. Kanze Dena’s team got the ADC’s name wrong, spelling his name as Lokolool instead of Lekolool. They quickly pulled down the photo and replaced it with one that had the correct spelling.

https://twitter.com/PSCU_Digital/status/1019208878691667969

But even then, the announcement was not the most important thing for most Kenyans on Twitter, who quickly declared that they cared less about the president’s ADC.

Others congratulated the new ADC for his new post.

@iNduati had queried in the deleted post, “How does that affect the price of fuel at the pump? We also have a new house help at home. Nonsense!”

@PhilipTipaku tweeted, “Congratulations lieutenant colonel T.S.Lekolool for your new position.”

@vmwaura wrote, “Seems to be an old colonial practice for KE’s HoSs to have ADCs. We should borrow a leaf from Croatia 🙂 just saying.”

@tgitau79 tweeted, “The previous one had a rather short stint. But that uniform is on point.”

Lt. Col Lekolool takes over from Lt. Col Victor Mburu who took over from the long serving Lt. Col Peter Njiru in August 2017.

Lt. Col Njiru was retained after President Kenyatta was sworn in office in April 2013 ceremoniously shifting his position from behind President Mwai Kibaki to President Kenyatta’s side.

He worked until last year when statehouse announced a change citing his travels abroad for military studies.