President William Ruto has explained why he stands on car roofs during his interactions with Kenyans in his tours across the country, linking it to a divine calling.
Photos of the Ruto standing atop cars while addressing Kenyans abound on the internet with the common assumption that he does so to be at an elevated height where he can be seen clearly but this is not the reason according to the Head of State.
Revealing the reason why he stands on top of cars, the President noted that the practice is ingrained in him as part of his divine calling that he is keen on, despite ending up as a politician and a staunch Christian.
READ: Ruto inspects Sh5.7 billion affordable housing project in Kisumu
Ruto who was speaking during a church service in Bungoma noted that it is his calling to be an evangelist that makes him behave like one even in his current capacity as a politician and president he tries to behave like one, even in his capacity as president.
‘’I am an evangelist. Many people sometimes wonder why I stand on raised places and sometimes on top of the car
‘’When your orientation is as an evangelist, you always behave like an evangelist even when you are doing other things,” President Ruto explained.
President Ruto identifies as a Christian and has made his intentions to become a pastor upon retirement from active politics known.
“I have given a commitment that when I finish my tour of duty as president I will go back to be an evangelist because that is my original calling,” Ruto stated, a commitment that he first made in 2019.
READ: University student leaders announce nationwide demos to protest new funding model
While addressing a crowd in Kitale during a function to celebrate Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (PEFA) Bishop Samuel Thiong’o’s 50 years of God’s ministry in 2019, Ruto who was then serving as Kenya’s Deputy President divulged that he will follow his calling upon exiting politics.
“I will spend the rest of my life evangelizing when I quit active politics. I don’t think there is a justifiable reason for any leader to overstay in power,” Ruto said.
He also has a long-standing association with the evangelical community, having served as the leader of the Christian Union (CU) while studying at the University of Nairobi before graduating in 1990.
It is from here that he got his footing in politics, having been involved in delegations to pay homage to former President Daniel arap Moi.
Afterwards, Ruto joined the infamous YK92 that campaigned for the then President in the 1992 election.
