The devil is a very bad man.
These were the words Deputy President William Ruto used to express his views on an unsettling video of Kirinyaga Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri.
“The kind of damage the devil can cause with an idle mind is great,” Ruto said in his address on Thursday, during the closure of the 5th Annual Devolution Conference in Kakamega.
“Keep the devil from engaging idle minds in your offices because you have kept your deputies jobless … This is really risky,” he said to laughter.
Ruto noted the importance of smooth relationships between Governors and their deputies.
“[This is so that] the devil does not have space to drive any evil agenda. I am not being specific on any situation. In fact I want to caution you that its unlawful to watch films that have not been sanctioned by the Kenya Film Classification Board,” he said.
“Any reference to any films that were not authorised is reference to illegal material. We should all keep to the lawful end.”
Ruto is one of several leaders who turned cheeky at the conference inapparent reference to Ndambiri’s video.
On Wednesday, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said he had declared a 24-hour economy and that reports indicated this was working.
Devolution Minister Eugene Wamalwa said: “Indeed it is working and [Kirinyaga] Governor [Anne] Waiguru can attest to it.”
They spoke before Opposition leader Raila Odinga took the state to deliver his keynote address.
Raila also lightened the mood at the conference when he said most of the guests seemed tired from working at night without lights.
The video of a naked Nambiri with a woman and men who harass him and demand that he identifies himself.
In his response, the Deputy Governor said he was set up by a racket of criminals targeting politicians and those with deep pockets for extortion.
Police termed the video strange and said they were investigating.