I Won't Complain On Negative Media Stories About Me- Ruto [VIDEO]

President William Ruto on Monday, October 30 declared that he would never raise a complaint regarding stories published across Kenyan media painting him negatively, a rare instance given how the media has been frustrating him since assuming office on September 13, 2022.

Speaking during the launch of locally assembled devices in Mavoko, Machakos County, the Head of State encouraged Kenyan journalists to write, publish and air all manner of stories about him and his government as part of their mandate to inform members of the public.

Ruto revealed that he and the government would continue reading whichever stories put out by the media, seemingly extending his support for press freedoms and that the stories calling out his faults would help him devise better ways of taking the country forward during their term.

"Keep writing your stories, it is good, it is okay. That is what society is made of," Ruto encouraged.

"You'll never hear me complain about your stories, write them. We will keep reading what is factual and we will keep reading stories that have been twisted, but we will stay focused because we must take the country where we all want it to be."

The Head of State praised members of the Fourth Estate, both mainstream and digital, for their creativity and innovative ways to improve their reporting and storytelling, especially with the rise of digital media.

With regards to the launch of the device assembly plant that is projected to produce up to 3 million locally-made smartphones for the Kenyan market, Ruto announced that the plant will also assemble digital tablets.

This, he said, would serve as alternatives to physical notebooks and laptops so that journalists can write and publish stories in real-time while on the field.

"My media guys, my friends...the good people who write many stories about me and many other stories and they are very good people because they are creative and innovative in what they do.

"I still see you guys with the writing pads, they are a bit old-fashioned. Now, this factory here can make for you digital pads so that you can write that story," he continued.

In a light moment, the President asked the journalists to keep him in mind while reporting on dividends at the end of the year.

"They are also making a contribution to keeping us on the straight and narrow, what I would like to ask of them because we built for them a factory which will give them digital pads, they should also think of me when you're reporting on the dividends at the end of the year, and also send me something small," he shared banter with the journalists.

Worth noting, on Wednesday, June 21, Ruto narrated his own troubles at the hands of the media, despite assuring that the government will defend press freedoms in the wake of verbal attacks from Public Service Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria.

He promised to do his part in defending the media from the actions of the erratic Cabinet minister who was under fire from media stakeholders since June 18 after announcing sanctions against the Nation Media Group (NMG), vowing to deny them advertisements from the government.

"We must defend the free media, we must defend their right to criticize, to say whatever it is that they want to say even to write propaganda, to say the wrong things, to write falsehoods.

"But we must defend the right of those who hold the media to account, who call them out. When the media goes rogue, we must also defend the right of people like Moses Kuria to speak their minds, the same way we are defending the media to say what they want, including the wrong ones," he stated.

Ruto reminisced being approached by a journalist seeking his Executive protection from the errant-talking CS, which he accepted, on condition that the journalists should defend him when he is under attack.

"I saw one journalist saying that the President should defend us from Moses Kuria, that's fine; I will do my bit, but I want to ask them who is going to defend me from rogue media because I go through hell all the time," posed Ruto.

"We need a fair balance and I think if they are feeling pain about what others say about them, it should tell them there are people who feel pain when they write falsehoods about others."