President Ruto hit by flying shoe in Migori tour

President William Ruto was hit by a shoe that was hurled at him while on a tour of Migori County.
He had to block the shoe with his arm while addressing a large crowd on Sunday, May 4, in Kehancha, Migori County.

The motive of the incident is yet to be determined.

Detectives swung into action immediately after the shoe was hurled as the president stopped talking briefly.

It is not clear if the man behind the incident was arrested. But officials said they were pursuing the man.

In a viral video seen, the Head of State can be seen blocking the shoe that flew his way, past security, and nearly hitting his head.

Ruto was on a small mounted dais surrounded by a large crowd when the incident happened.

His security, mainly drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU), formed a barrier around him.

But since he was on a raised podium, his guards were level on the ground with the crowd to control them and stop them from reaching the president.

The president, who was in Migori County for a three-day working tour, was forced to cut short his speech briefly as he was speaking about lowering the cost of living.

He had launched and commissioned several projects.

Prior to the bizarre incident, there were several pointers that his safety was likely to be compromised, besides the fact that his platform was fairly close to the residents.

There had been a push and pull from the crowd.

The security personnel, who were several metres from the President, had a hard time containing an excited crowd, who were eager to get closer to the Head of State. One officer immediately sprang to Ruto’s defence immediately the piece of footwear was hurled.

Former president Uhuru Kenyatta had also faced similar experience in the same area.

The incidents mirror the widely publicised incident from December 14, 2008, when then-US President George W. Bush was hit with a shoe thrown by an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, during a press conference in Baghdad.