CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo has been the talk of the town in Kenya, for the better part of Tuesday.
A post he made on his X page has elicited mixed reactions among Kenyans throwing him into the heart of several conversations.
The celebrated journalist in his post poked holes in President William Ruto's attendance at the Italy-Africa summit in Rome.
The journalist noted that Ruto had last year protested instances where all African presidents got summoned for meetings and only got a few minutes to plead their cases.
Ostensibly accusing Ruto of doublespeak, Madowo shared the past speech by Ruto vowing not to attend such meetings.
"President William Ruto said he + other African leaders would not be summoned by 1 country. The African Union would represent them going forward. He's standing just steps away from both the AU chair & the AU Commission chair in Italy while other East African presidents skipped," Madowo's post reads.
This was President Ruto in April 2023 vowing not to be summoned again.
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) January 29, 2024
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is currently in Paris, just a 2-hour flight from Rome, but he isn’t attending #ItaliaAfrica pic.twitter.com/uua88Wkvz8
His post rattled a section of X users who fired back at him.
The President Press Secretary Emmanuel Talam is among those who lashed out at Madowo even as he asked him to listen to the President's speech where he had addressed the matter.
In his address in Rome, Ruto explained why he opted to attend the Italy-Africa summit despite having vowed to keep off such meetings.
"Let me begin by appreciating President Sergio Matterella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Government of Italy for convening this Summit. I have previously noted that an invitation extended by one country to all 54 African nations did not necessarily serve Africa’s best interests," Ruto said.
"But those of us present at this conference, representing our colleagues, find it different and inspiring due to the pragmatic approach you, have taken, Madam Prime Minister."
The CNN journalist, however, also received backing from another lot of Kenyans on the X platform.
Here are reactions from Kenyans: