Charlene Ruto blasted for appearing to take credit of countrywide blood drive

Charlene, who back in December 2023 was appointed the Kenya Blood Ambassador by the Health CS Susan Nakhumicha, on Wednesday took to her Instagram account to share a poster lauding Kenyan medics for their efforts in a massive blood drive across the country.

Part of the congratulatory poster reads: "Thank You Kenya! Together we made the blood drive a success."

The poster, however, was not initially designed by Ruto's team but by Dr. Austin Omondi, popularly known as Ja Prado, who originally shared it on his X account. 

He wrote: "We confirmed we had the biggest blood drive in Kenya’s history. It is possible for us to end all deaths due to lack of blood. We can reduce hospital stay and bills as we wait for blood. We did it guys! And we shall do even bigger things." 

Soon after Charlene re-shared the poster, many doctors, especially on X, immediately took issue with her involvement in the matter - and what appeared to be an attempt to insert herself into a success she wasn't a part of.

One person said, "Please @charlruto have some shame and don’t take credit for work that was done by other people. You are not with us, you are not like us!"

Popular X personality Dr. Salim Ishmael also took issue, simply writing, "We were not associated with @charlruto. Thank you!"

Dr. Caroline Ngetich, yet another medical professional, also chimed in, saying, "Does she understand that people actually donated blood because her father's regime killed and harmed innocent Kenyans? How can you now jump onto this conversation without shame? This is outrageous!"

Dr. Omondi's initiative, which covered the entire country, saw thousands of Kenyans come out in droves to donate blood for injured protesters across various Kenyan towns.

Official figures shared by the Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority (KTTA) show that the blood drive managed to collect 8,900 pints of blood nationwide.

Nairobi County led with 2500 pints, Mombasa collected 1500 pints, Nakuru did 1300 pints and Kisumu 1100 pints.

Despite being the Kenya Blood Ambassador, a position she had held for the last seven months, Charlene Ruto has been conspicuously absent when it came to initiatives meant to mass-donate blood for the victims of police brutality during the anti-government demos.

The nationwide blood drives have mostly been conducted by doctors on X, with the notable effort of Dr. Austin Omondi alongside several of his compatriots.