This archive report was first published on 1 September 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto's relationship has been strained for some time, and recent public functions have only served to highlight the tension between the two leaders.
At an evangelical church celebration in Karen, Nairobi, Uhuru took the opportunity to announce that a review of the constitution would take place, despite his deputy's well-known objections to the idea.
Uhuru's statement was made in response to a sermon by the pastor, who had cited Christ's providence in raising the issue of the proposed review. Uhuru noticeably did not join his deputy and the rest of the congregation in clapping when the pastor waded into the constitution matter.
Things got even stickier at a later function the same day, where the pair appeared at the funeral of a popular local musician, John DeMathew, in Gatanga, Murang'a County.
Former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo pointedly asked the DP to stop his full-time early campaigning for 2022, a request that Ruto predictably rejected.
Uhuru, meanwhile, took a different tangent in his speech, choosing to dwell on the exploitation of local musicians on issues of copyright and ordering a criminal investigation.
However, it was apparent that music industry conmen were not the only ones he had in mind, and his words were seen as a veiled warning to Ruto and his allies.
Uhuru's speech was cryptic, but it was clear that he was warning against divisive public utterances and narratives being pushed by certain individuals, which he said had the potential to cause serious trouble in the country.
