NTV Anchor's Account Of Visit To State House For Ruto Interview

Ruto's predecessor had created an aura of fear around similar media roundtables...

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Jan 9, 2023 - 13:13
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NTV Anchor's Account Of Visit To State House For Ruto Interview
President William Ruto during a joint interview with local media at State House on January 4, 2022. /KBC

NTV news anchor, James Smart described his experience of his visit to State House for a joint media interview with President William Ruto on Wednesday, January 4, giving comparisons to how it was during former President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.

In his column that was published in the Daily Nation on Monday, January 9, he explained how difficult it was for journalists to access State House during Uhuru's term, an experience he described as one that created discomfort.

He noted how journalists had their phones confiscated by stern security officers from the gate before being led to a waiting room where they would stay put for hours owing to the infamous State House Time whereby events would start hours after they were scheduled to start.

"As a rule, your phone was confiscated by mean-looking security officers at the gates before you were led away to some tent or a waiting room. Then came the long wait.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta's photo with the watermark and President William Ruto's photo without. /VIRALTEAKE

"Then President Uhuru Kenyatta, and his handlers, had invented what was informally referred to as the Standard State House Time (SST). A media briefing slated for noon could start at 3 pm — or even 7 pm. Journalists got used to this State House hospitality, a house of restrictions and seemingly with no functioning clocks," he explained.

Smart thus explained that he was not too excited on learning that President Ruto had accepted the highly-anticipated joint media interview, with his handlers revealing that he would be available between 7 pm and 10 pm for both the Swahili and English versions respectively.

The journalists got to the State House's infamous 'Gate B' in fear that they would have their freedoms stripped from them again, only to be met with shock after learning that the security officers were not going to confiscate their phones, one of the many changes they would encounter with the new administration as the interview took place.

"He calmly tells them, “I heard you wanted me here?” as he laughs. “No, no not here and now, Your Excellency,” one of his media team members explains as they start leading him out of the hall.

"As he walks out, managing three to five minutes of small talk with his would-be interviewers, the Head of State offers tea “Naomba mkunywe chai wangwana, hio iko mingi sana hapa (Please have some tea, ladies and gentlemen. We have it in plenty),” he says as laughs and walks out," he added.

Ruto's predecessor had created an aura of fear around similar media roundtables, with him and his handlers being keen to make sure journalists understand who was in charge.

In comparison, Ruto appeared to have divorced that past as the journalists learned that he was keen on turning State House into an office and not a residence.

"The President is pained by Mr Kenyatta, his former boss and political ally. He speaks often about how the job of balancing the economy was heavy and crucial but “these people [Mr Kenyatta’s administration] did not work for three years”, a heavy intonation evident in his voice," Smart went on.

Another key experience he took note of was his interaction with the President over dinner alongside the other journalists as he interacted with everyone at the table and occasionally laughed at comments on social media about the just concluded interview.

While speaking passionately about farming, terming it as a calling, President Ruto empathised with media and journalism which are experiencing challenges brought about by digitisation.

“You [journalists] have a tough job, some people say just by looking at you on TV that you belong to this camp and that camp ... it must be impossible,” he said.

Smart and his colleagues reminded him of the challenges journalists endured under the new administration while suggesting to him that he must make a deliberate choice to have such regular media roundtables or give journalists exclusive interviews.

"He looked at me and said, “Smart, if I do that, they (Kenyans) will say I have ‘captured’ you.” I pushed back on that idea and asked him to find a balance. “We will see we will see,” he answered back as he exited the hall and we left the hallowed corridors of the house on the hill," the journalist said.

Since President Ruto took office on September 13, 2022, he has adopted a strict timeline that initially caught the media off-guard in the early days of the current regime, but also changed the hospitality of guests who visit the highest office in the land.

President William Ruto and former president Uhuru Kenyatta during a past meeting at State House, Nairobi. /PSCU