Lawyer Nelson Havi wants President William Ruto to pull a Daniel Moi and disappear from the limelight for a few weeks.

Speaking on Citizen TV yesterday, Havi said the head of state has been “annoying the people of Kenya” with nonstop public appearances and should step back to cool tempers. “It is imperative for President William Ruto to do what Moi did at one point in time. Please disappear for a few weeks. Stop annoying the people of Kenya,” he told reporters.

Havi’s rebuke came a day after Ruto scolded parents during a church service in Machakos. The president had argued that raising children is a parental duty, not the job of the police or clergy. “The police are trained to deal with criminals. They are not trained in parenting,” Ruto said, urging parents to “take time to parent their children.”

Those comments landed badly with Havi, a former Law Society of Kenya president. He reminded Ruto that the same children will soon be voters and warned that lecturing parents from the pulpit undermines the presidency.

“These children will be adults tomorrow or the day after tomorrow… You cannot, by any measure of imagination, come on national TV in a church and make statements of this kind; it is not consistent with the office of the president of Kenya.”

Havi wants more than silence; he wants contrition. “What you should do is take the same microphone and apologize to the church, parents, and children. That is my plea to you, you are my friend and I have your best interests at heart,” he added.