President William Ruto was on Monday, March 6, forced to cut his speech briefly while launching Affordable Housing Units in Starehe, Nairobi County.
The Head of State paused for nearly two minutes to honour the Muslim Asr prayers from a nearby mosque.
The ASR prayer is one of the five mandatory Islamic prayers. ASR is the third prayer of the day if counted from midnight. Other prayers are Fajr(before dawn), Dhuhr(at noon), Maghrib (after sunset), and Isha (at night).
The period of Asr prayer begins approximately when the sun is halfway down from noon to sunset. After which the Maghrib prayer begins.
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In 2021, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was also forced to cut his speech during the funeral mass of former Tanzanian President John Magufuli at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma.
Uhuru, who was eulogizing late President John Magufuli, paused his speech for two minutes between 12.53 and 12:55 p.m. to honor the Dhuhr prayer in a nearby mosque in Dodoma.
“Poleni wacheni niendelee kwa kusema..." Uhuru said after he resumed his speech amid claps from mourners.