In a split second, the usual drama created by a politician at an event turned upside down when a little girl at the meeting in Nyeri County did the unexpected by not going back to her mother after getting the touch of President William Ruto at the inauguration of the NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital disbursement.
This little drama, which took place on Monday, January 12, at the Kabiru-ini ASK Grounds, has already overshadowed other happenings of the president’s ongoing tour of the region and become one of the most sensational.
During the proceedings, President Ruto was interacting with the beneficiaries of the NYOTA program, a flagship youth empowerment initiative for which nearly 820,000 young Kenyans are targeted to receive technical and financial support.
The president was talking to one mother who did not mention the plans for a juice bar enterprise, but it was clear that she was a little bit confused about how to get the Sh25,000 NYOTA capital. After a very brief interaction with the mother about the baby girl with the name of Gathoni, Ruto picked up the child out of her arms, seemingly to show his friendliness.
The event that followed turned the audience with astonishment. When Ruto tried to give the baby girl back to her mother so that he could carry on with the ceremonies, the baby girl firmly attached herself to him and did not want to be let go.
The crowd’s first shock quickly transformed into laughing and clapping when the president, for a second taken over by the situation, said that he would have to “take a baby with him” and announce the baby as his companion for the day.
The episode caught security aides and organizers by surprise, causing a short disruption as the audience reacted to the unscripted moment. Ruto took the matter lightly, still talking to the beneficiaries while taking the child, then finally giving her back to her mother for the event to resume.
The incident, although it was very humorous, still got the lion’s share of media attention and social media discussions all over the country, which pointed out both the president’s high public profile and the uncertain nature of live political events. Some analysts believe that the moment might contribute a lot to the visibility and shareability of the coverage related to the NYOTA program launch.
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