Nakuru governor Susan Kihika had difficulty conveying President Ruto's condolence message at a funeral in the Bahati constituency.
Kihika joined mourners on Friday, October 11, in the send-off to the brother of the area of constituency Irene Njoki.
All had been seamless until the county boss notified them that she would be reading the president's message.
They started heckling as an apparent show of disapproval to the president whom they had religiously rallied behind in the recent past.
A determined Kihika bulldozed Ruto's message through the noise until she concluded.
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Seeming to acknowledge the Bahati residents' unrest, she concluded that the heckling was their feedback to the president.
"Nowadays, you people don't joke. I thank you for giving us feedback on the real situation on the ground, and we appreciate you," she said.
The political situation in Ruto's backyards has been significantly changing in recent days.
Unfulfilled campaign promises are among the reasons the president is getting into the bad books of his one-time diehard supporters.
Ruto's administration has been on the spot for a time now over its supposed failure to address the challenges the common citizenry has been enduring.
While seeking office in 2022, Ruto cited the adversities faced by Kenyans; the high cost of living, high taxation, health cover and unemployment were some of the areas he promised to improve if elected.
Those who voted for him have since been holding him to account, with a majority expressing their dissatisfaction with his regime two years after the election.
The rate of joblessness among young Kenyans is still high, exorbitant tax regimes continue to clean the pockets of the citizens, and the dissipation of public funds and bloated government spending continues to take up a huge bit of the revenue when important sectors stall due to lack of money.
Also compounding things for the president is the deteriorating relationship between him and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
Kenyans have been divided on Gachagua's impeachment, with a considerable section opposing it and accusing the president of betrayal.
During the public participation exercise, a section of the public faulted Ruto for what they implied was him throwing his deputy under the bus despite having been elected together.
Some vowed not to support him again after seeming to back the political machinations against the deputy president.
Gachagua was impeached after 282 MPs voted to uphold the 11 charges that formed the basis of his ouster proceedings.
His fate now lies with the Senate, whose members will be probing him in two plenary sessions scheduled for Wednesday, October 16, and Thursday, October 17.
