State House digital strategist and head of presidential special projects, Dennis Itumbi, has dismissed claims that President William Ruto was deliberately targeted with a shoe during a public event in Migori. The incident, which sparked outrage and speculation online, saw the President briefly struck in the face by a flying shoe, momentarily disrupting his address.
In a new video shared by Itumbi on one of his official platforms, a different perspective of the event emerges. Filmed from a frontal angle, the footage captures a man humorously holding up a dusty shoe among a sea of mobile phones, seemingly pretending to record the President’s speech. The shoe is positioned in landscape mode, resembling how one would typically hold a smartphone.
As Ruto begins to say, “Tulisema kwanza, tupunguze gharama ya…,” another individual, apparently annoyed by the obstructed view, slaps the shoe out of the man’s hand. The shoe then inadvertently flies through the air and strikes the President in the face.
“A funny joke spiralled out of control,” Itumbi explained. “Someone without a phone jokingly used his shoe as a ‘camera’. Another person nearby, frustrated, slapped the shoe away, and sadly, it hit the President.”
Itumbi described the incident as a light moment blown out of proportion and appealed to the public to help identify the man behind the “shoe-cam.” He revealed that a friend, businessman Sam Mburu, had offered to gift the man a proper smartphone, encouraging him to channel his creativity constructively.
Despite Itumbi’s efforts to defuse the situation, security agencies have taken the matter seriously. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen confirmed the arrest of three individuals, stating that investigations were ongoing to determine whether the act was a spontaneous joke or a planned security breach.
The event was briefly interrupted as security personnel rushed to the stage and cleared the crowd near the dais. President Ruto, however, was seen calming his team, urging them not to overreact.
The incident has ignited debate online, with Kenyans split between seeing it as a comical misstep and a worrying lapse in presidential security.
