By Charles Kinyua
President William Ruto has been advised to avoid working with friends but work with competent people.
Retired Presidential Press Director, Lee Njiru urged the Head of State to refrain from surrounding himself with friends who can never tell him when things go wrong.
In an interview on Jeff Koinange’s JKLive on Citizen tv, Njiru who served the late President Daniel arap Moi for close to 40 years blamed cheer leaders who surround leaders for most failures of the leaders.
He disclosed that the nation’s first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta died due to negligence as those around him knew he was ailing yet left him at the mercy of a nurse who was not facilitated and was of negligible assistance.
“Hours before he eventually died, Mzee had collapsed in the toilet, yet nobody found it fit to take him to hospital. He could hardly walk to his bedroom, but those around him found it fit to travel to Nairobi,” lamented Njiru who was in State House, Mombasa hours before Mzee breathed his last.
The former Moi confidant further advised the current Head of State whom he described as long time friend to seek for elderly advisors who have real life experiences but not those that will only cheer on even when things are moving south.
“Most Kenyans used to wonder why Moi used to surround himself with the likes of Mulu Mutisya, Kariuki Chotara, Ezekiel Bargetuny and others and not the elite,” reminisced the retired Press Man.
“Being close to him, I once asked him why and he told me that those wazees respected him but still could speak their minds honestly and thus acted as a reliable intelligence stream,” disclosed Njiru who celebrated his 75th birthday last week and whom Moi retained in retirement until he died in 2020.
With alight touch, Njiru noted that Ruto must be having long sleepless nights due to stress as he never partook of “stress medication that his predecessor Uhuru used” in reference to moderated alcohol.
He rubbished the much hyped subsidised fertiliser as there were no Agricultural Extension Officers to guide farmers on the appropriate use of the same as well as the right varieties for different regions.
“I am a farmer and for the last 18 years I am yet to meet an Agricultural Extension Officer,” lamented the former long serving head of the President’s press team wondering how farmers were expected to maximise production without professional guidance.