Mr Ruto has in the past told journalists that he and President Kenyatta consult regularly and he is always in the loop when the President is announcing decisions to the public.
However, there appears to be instances when there have been exceptions.
President Kenyatta issued the new projects freeze directive while addressing all government accounting officers, including Principal Secretaries, Parastatal Heads, Vice Chancellors of Public Universities and Chairmen of State Corporations during a meeting at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi. But as he was doing this, his deputy was launching one such project almost 400 kilometres from the capital.
While Mr Kenyatta said the directive was aimed at stopping wastage of resources and the trend among government agencies of abandoning incomplete projects before jumping onto others, the interpretation among the Deputy President’s men is that Mr Ruto could be the target because he has been launching numerous projects for a while now in well-publicised tours of various parts of the country.
“There will be no new projects that will be embarked on until you complete those that are ongoing,” said the President.
President Kenyatta warned that government officials who embark on new projects before finishing ongoing initiatives without authorisation will be held responsible.
Laid the foundation stone of Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Ikolomani Campus, Kakamega County. pic.twitter.com/1kVzJm8oWi
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD. (@WilliamsRuto) December 17, 2018
A look at social media posts from Mr Ruto shows that every weekend, if he is not contributing to harambees in churches, he is initiating a development project in different parts of the country.
The President’s directive means that Mr Ruto may now have his options limited and this could weaken his forays because he can only inspect ongoing projects.
That also means he and other politicians cannot make promises that they will launch new projects. To do that, they will need the express, written authority of the National Treasury.
The recent developments came amid speculation about further possible changes in the Cabinet as the war against corruption gathers pace.
However, some of President Kenyatta’s senior advisors are deeply concerned that the ongoing crackdown on graft in high places could considerably weaken his government. They are mostly concerned by the politicisation of the purge that has seen many government officials arraigned in court.
The President’s handlers, some who are privy to the evidence in the possession of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), have reportedly warned that going for some of those linked to corruption could trigger an implosion in government and the ruling party.
The new stance stems from the latest information that DCI could be toying with the idea of getting Mr Kenyatta’s approval to go for two of his Cabinet Secretaries.
While Mr Kenyatta has said that he is ready to go it all the way, some of his men are of the view that this should not been done at the expense of his hold onto the instruments of power.
Some politicians leaning towards Mr Ruto have been up in arms, claiming that government officers from Rift Valley were being unfairly targeted in the operation yet these were the very people that the Jubilee Party relied on to deliver votes in the last elections.