This archive report was first published on 4 June 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's State House interview, broadcast by NTV on Sunday, has sparked a heated debate among Nation readers. The interview, conducted by Nation Editorial Director Mutuma Mathiu, was meant to be an exclusive, but it turned out to be a battle of wits between the two.
According to Mathiu, he had planned to let broadcaster Joseph Warungu take the lead in the interview, but at the last minute, he was informed that only one of them would conduct the interview, and it wasn't Warungu.
Mathiu has since taken to social media to express his disappointment, saying that he had been outmaneuvered by the President. He claimed that he had brought his 'A-game' to the interview, but the President had 'brought all his friends and neighbours to the fight.'
Despite the setback, Mathiu has found solace in the fact that Nation readers have been actively engaging with the interview, posing tough questions to the President. Some of the questions include why the President cheated Deputy President William Ruto on his promise to rule for 10 years before handing over to him for another 10 years.
Other questions include why the President allowed the demolition of houses in Ruai and Kariobangi, throwing children and the elderly out into the cold during the Covid-19 crisis. Readers have also asked why Francis Atwoli and other politicians have not been arrested for breaking Covid-19 rules and curfew by holding meetings in his Kajiado house.
Mathiu has promised to share more of the questions from readers, saying that they may be 'indelicate, naïve, embarrassing or offensive', but they are necessary to hold the President accountable.
