The Kenyan government has described as “shameful” an incident in which a shoe was flinged at President William Ruto during a rally on Sunday.

Widely shared video clips show the footwear striking the president’s left arm as he held it aloft while he was speaking.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura condemned what happened and called for those behind it to be “apprehended”. “What would happen if we all decided to throw shoes at each other? What values are we teaching our children?” he asked in post on X 

The president was addressing a crowd at a public event in the western county of Migori as part of a three-day tour of the region where he has been launching and commissioning development projects.

An official video of the event shared by the president on X does not show the shoe incident, which appears to have happened off-camera.

However, commotion within the crowd is briefly seen. The president is heard asking his security officers, who may have been about to look for the culprit, to leave the people in the audience alone.

The screen then goes blank before and minutes later the video shows other people speaking at the rally.

Since he became president in 2022, Ruto has faced protests from Kenyans frustrated with the cost of living and increased taxes.