President William Ruto has set social media ablaze after breaching protocol, ditching his motorcade and security detail to drive himself to Kenyatta International Convention Centre(KICC) in a tiny electric car.
The President shared a short video of himself driving the two-seater MG Comet to KICC which is the venue of the Africa Climate Summit with netizens giving their take as some alleged double-standards and hypocrisy.
A lean security detail of one on a motorcycle could be seen accompanying the head of state, a break away from usual practice of several motorcycles and convoy of high-end fuel guzzlers.
Shortly afterwards, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed released a statement explaining why the president made the move.
According to the statement, Ruto chose to walk the talk and lead by example to show his commitment to adopting electric vehicles.
"President Ruto leads by example, driving himself to KICC in an electric car and an all-electric motorcade to connect with Africa's Youth on their climate declaration ahead of the Africa Climate Summit tomorrow," stated Mohammed.
It remains unclear whether the president will dump the convoy of fuel guzzlers that have come to be associated with high-ranking government officials or replace them with electric vehicles amid speculation that today’s choice was a one-time affair planned to coincide with the Africa Climate Summit.
A section of netizens however failed to buy into the idea, reminding the president that after the summit, he will revert to his usual convoy with his officials doing the same hence today's move amounts to little.
Most recently, a ban that had been placed on logging was lifted, sparking outrage from environmentalist.