Embattled Kiambu governor Ferdinand Baba Yao Waititu has spoken about the ’embarassing’ incident in which he was reportedly kicked out of the VIP podium during the Mashujaa Day celebrations in Mombasa.
Waititu, who is temporarily out of office as over graft charges, was the butt of the joke on social media last Sunday after a video of the incident emerged.
The clip shows the event’s organisers walk to where Baba Yao was sitting, engage him in a brief chat after which he received a call on his phone. Immediately after, Waititu stood up, walked out of the dais, and chatted with several security officials as he walked out of the venue.
Waititu had arrived before other governors and taken a seat reserved for Mombasa Woman Representative Asha Hussein.
Baba Yao has finally explained the circumstances behind the incident saying he showed up for the event without an invitation card and found there was no seat reserved for him. He said this created a “small confusion”.
“What caused the confusion was that I did not have an invitation card for Mashujaa day. I thought it was just the normal Mashujaa Day Celebrations where you can show up uninvited, but I was wrong,” said Waititu.
“When I arrived at the podium I realised that no seat had been reserved for me, so I decided to leave,” Waititu told The Standard.
Waititu further rubbished reports that President Uhuru Kenyatta was avoiding him due to corruption cases he is facing in court.
“Those saying that I was chased away so as not to be seen close to the President are people intent on portraying me in bad light. I am not a native of Mombasa. The sun and the heat was too much for me and so I decided to follow the proceedings from my room,” he said.
