Deputy President William Ruto snubbed the 7th and final devolution conference in protest of the role assigned to the ODM leader Raila Odinga by the Council of Governors, it has now emerged.
The conference was held in Wote, Makueni County between November 23 and 26.
The DP is said to have been angered by the preferential treatment given to his now political arch-rival, Raila, and chose to boycott the meeting to express his displeasure.
A report by Nation says that allies of the DP confirmed that he indeed missed the meeting deliberately to voice his discontent to the organizers of the conference.
The DP is reported to have deemed the conference as a campaign platform for the ODM leader hence he couldn't endorse the plan by being a party to the conference.
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“No one in his right mind should expect the DP to preside over the closing ceremony of an event that was opened by the leader of the opposition," an MP allied to Ruto told Nation.
The ODM leaders' arrival at the devolution conference was accompanied by a huge entourage of six cabinet secretaries, creating an image of a man at the centre of power.
The ODM leader was treated as one of the guests of honour despite the fact that President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the conference virtually from South Africa.
Raila gave a keynote address.
When the DP was contacted on Thursday, November 25 to close the ceremony the following day on Friday, he reportedly told the organizers that he will dispatch his chief of staff Ken Osinde to represent him.
CoG, however, turned down the offer and instead reached out to Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugine Wamalwa who closed the 3-day conference.
