By Ally Jamah Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William staged a colourful six-hour homecoming show-biz moments after arriving from the International Criminal Court date at The Hague.
The two, who are among six Kenyans facing charges of bearing greatest responsibilities for the post-election violence, were welcomed by hundreds of supporters sympathetic to their political tribulations.
The convoy carrying the duo, and those of their supporters snaked its way from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Uhuru Park in the heart of Nairobi for a prayer-cum-political.
The two got support when Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka in his official motorcade joined them along the road to show his support and unity.
The VP then abandoned his limousine to ride with Uhuru and Ruto from the roof top of one of the cars as they waved to cheers from the crowds. They passed through the busy Jogoo Road, which neighbours some of Nairobi’s densely populated estates, attracting huge crowds pulled by loud music and blaring slogans.
Catch glimpseRuto and Uhuru made several stopovers along the road to address gatherings of enthusiastic on-lookers who gathered to catch a glimpse of their convoy.
Scores of ardent supporters had to put up with the scorching sun and dust on the road to walk the more than ten kilometres from the airport to town.
But the march was briefly interrupted by a group of rowdy youth who unleashed a hail of stones on Ruto and Uhuru supporters near Makongeni resulting in a skirmish between the two groups.
Police swiftly repulsed the attackers with teargas, but not after a nearby kiosk was looted bare. Earlier, upon their arrival at JKIA at around 6:10am, Uhuru and Ruto kept their supporters waiting at the International Arrivals Lounge for several hours as they held consultations with MPs at the VIP Lounge.
Same flightRadio presenter Joshua arap Sang, one of the six suspects, left the airport quietly without much fanfare after landing in the same flight with Uhuru and Ruto.
When the two leaders finally stepped out at around 9am, they made carefully-worded speeches to avoid stepping on the foot of The Hague judges, who have threatened to issue warrants of arrests in case of incitement.
"I want to thank all Kenyans from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers they did for us till we returned safely. Many people thought we would never return," said Ruto. He added: "As leaders, we say with one voice: that what happened in 2007/08 will never be repeated again. No Kenyan will shed blood or destroy property as a result of competition in politics."
Ruto struck a reconciliatory tone saying that Kenya belongs to every citizen of every ethnic community and different religious persuasions and urged unity of the country.
On his part Uhuru said their trip to The Hague was well and expressed confidence he would eventually be found to be innocent and justice would prevail.
"We want Kenyans of all backgrounds to live together in peace and move the country forward. We will go round the country to bring Kenyans together to live in peace and harmony. We want Kenyans in the grassroots to speak with one voice," said the Finance minister.
There was a huge presence of security personnel within the airport to control the huge crowds that were belting out songs and slogans and waving banners.
A large number of supporters who had gone to receive The Hague suspects were locked out by police.
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