Ruto's Reply To Eugene Wamalwa Saying He Almost Slapped Him (VIDEO)

It was the manner in which the reply was delivered which has since ignited an uproar on social media.

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Jul 12, 2022 - 13:04 Updated: Jul 12, 2022 - 15:06
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Ruto's Reply To Eugene Wamalwa Saying He Almost Slapped Him (VIDEO)
Side by side image of Deputy President William Ruto and Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa. /TWITTER

Deputy President Wiliam Ruto has responded to claims by Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa on Saturday evening, July 9 that he was almost slapped by the second in command in 2018.

However, it was the manner in which the reply was delivered which has since ignited an uproar on social media.

Speaking on Tuesday, July 12 at Kitalale, Saboti, Trans Nzoia County, Ruto indicated it was not amongst his values to be violent against another person, but he mentioned that his culture does not advocate for the slapping of women, something that did not sit well with netizens on social media.

"I heard someone whom I gave a job at the Cabinet, who comes from this area, that he said I wanted to slap him. You know in our culture we don't slap women, we respect them.

Watch the video:

"Tell him to relax. Without me, he would still be loitering in the streets. I'm the one who pulled him from the trenches and turned him into a CS," he said.

By the time of publishing, a majority of netizens had begun to descend upon him over the remarks, with some even questioning whether he was the right fit to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta after the August 9 elections.

"Ruto says ati huko kwao hawachapi kofi wanawake (that in his culture they do not slap women), in this case referring to Eugene Wamalwa.

"Why is it that when some men want to insult their fellow men, they call them women or compare them to women? Is being a woman a curse or a terrible thing? Is it a sign of weakness?" wrote Pauline Njoroge.

"William Ruto just called Eugene Wamalwa a woman. Is this the guy Kenyans want to elect as president?" Aadoo Ozzo weighed in.

The response comes after the Defence CS revealed how the confrontation between him and Ruto almost turned ugly after Ruto expressed his displeasure after he led a delegation from Western Kenya to meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“The DP was very furious and demanded my resignation. He wanted me to explain why I had taken the leaders to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta without his permission,” the CS explained during an Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party rally at Bukhungu Stadium on Saturday, July 9, with regards to his tenure as CS for Devolution.

Wamalwa got into the Cabinet in 2015 when he was appointed to head the then newly created Water and Irrigation ministry after being nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta in April 2014.

The allegations surfaced barely a week after an audio clip was leaked online whereby the Deputy President confessed to nearly slapping the President in 2017 after the nullification of the election results by the Supreme Court.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in his capacity revealed that he had actually considered leaving the highest seat in the land at that time and retiring to his home in Gatundu, Kiambu County.

“A lot has been said about me. Some are even going out there saying how I wanted to go to Gatundu after the Supreme Court nullified my 2017 election.

"I want to confirm that, indeed it's true. Yes, I wanted to go home. Because, if going home would have brought peace in this country, then I was ready,” he said during a  meeting with various religious leaders on unity and peace ahead of the August 9, election at State House, Nairobi on Friday, July 8.

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a prayer in State House on July 8, 2022. /PSCU

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