Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto was on Monday stopped from flying to neighboring Uganda in what his supporters say is a state-backed campaign to humiliate him.
It would have been Ruto’s second trip to Kampala in a month. After he arrived at Nairobi’s Wilson airport for his flight, he was told to seek clearance from the head of public service.
He was then made to wait five hours before his flight was canceled.
After he was stopped from leaving the country, Ruto said in a cryptic tweet “it’s alright, let’s leave it to God” in Kiswahili.
It is the latest incident to plague the strained relations between Ruto and his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The two erstwhile partners who came to power in 2012 through their Jubilee coalition fell out in 2018. Ruto is rumored to be preparing a bid for the presidency.
Kenyatta who is ineligible to stand is alleged to be backing former prime minister and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, against an old understanding with his deputy.
Kenyatta and Odinga have addressed joint rallies in support of a bill to amend the constitution, known in Kenya as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
Ruto is a regular visitor to Uganda. He last traveled to the country in early July and met with President Yoweri Museveni.