Day Raila suspended, and later fired William Ruto

“In exercise of the authority vested in the Prime Minister in accordance with the provisions of section 15 (a) of the Constitution, and section 4 (1) of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, which confer on me also the authority to supervise the execution of the functions and affairs of the government, including ministries, I am hereby suspending with immediate effect the following ministers for a period of three months: Honourable William Ruto, Minister for Agriculture, and Honourable Samuel Ongeri Minister for Education," he said in a statement.

Mr Odinga, President Mwai Kibaki’s co-principal in the Government of National Unity, said the suspension stemmed from a forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the maize scandal, and the report of the internal auditor-general on Free Primary Education, which "laid credible foundations for the two ministers to be investigated." 

In the alleged scandal at the Agriculture ministry, a government plan to import maize from South Africa to alleviate hunger was hijacked by connected individuals who bought the grains at Sh1,500 per 90kg bag from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and sold the same at Sh2,800 (per bag) to millers. 

In the end, the government’s dream for cheap ugali went up in smoke, quite literally.

At Jogoo House, some 2.6 kilometres away, more than Sh100 million meant for President Kibaki’s pet project to provide universal free primary education to Kenyan children had been looted through fictitious workshops.

The prime minister, whose party, the Orange Democratic Movement, held half of the Cabinet slots, stated that he decided to suspend both ministers in his camp following a similar action taken by President Kibaki, who had suspended eight government officials, including five permanent secretaries and heads of state corporations, implicated in the maize scandal.

He emphasised that for the government to conduct fair, independent, and comprehensive investigations, which would allow for gathering of evidence to determine if any individuals should be prosecuted in these scandals, it was crucial for Mr Ruto (before he earned his PhD) and Prof Ongeri to step aside.

Read: Like a phoenix rising from the ashes: How Kenya’s enigma rose from political dust

The suspension, which lasted for only a few hours, touched off a political firestorm in the Cabinet, with tensions that had simmered in the Kofi Annan-mediated coalition government boiling over.

And like lovers who fall out, fight, or even break up on Valentine’s Day, Mr Ruto, the then ODM deputy party leader, took on his boss, dismissing the suspension and asserting that Mr Odinga was not the appointing authority. 

“I have not received any communication from the appointing authority as minister for Agriculture, and therefore, I will continue to fulfil my responsibilities until that authority tells me otherwise,” he shot back, adding, “I respectfully ask the prime minister which part of the PwC report implicates the minister for Agriculture or William Ruto in any way.”

Prof Ongeri echoed Mr Ruto’s sentiments, stating that he had not received any communication from President Kibaki.

“I have not heard any message from the appointing authority, and I am quite clear in my mind about who that authority is,” the Education minister asserted.

And like the parent who calms tempers and restores order in troubled marriages and unions, President Kibaki emerged from State House in the evening, wielding not a bouquet of flowers but a big stick.

He dismissed Mr Odinga’s decision to suspend the two ministers, indicating that he was not consulted and that the prime minister did not have the authority to suspend them.

"The basis of appointment, suspension and removal of a minister under the Coalition Government as per the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya, the National Accord and Reconciliation Act and the Agreement on the Principles of Partnership of the Coalition government is full consultation and concurrence between the President and the Prime Minister,” he said.

“There has been no consultation between H.E. the President and the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister on the suspension of Hon. William Ruto, Minister for Agriculture and Hon. Prof. Sam Ongeri, Minister for Education, as announced by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister today at a Press Conference.”

Forced to eat humble pie

Careful not to be seen as abetting plunder and theft of public resources, Mr Kibaki said his position “should not be interpreted in any way as undermining the ongoing war against corruption”.

“The war against corruption will be successfully fought when we do so in accordance with the Constitution and the due process of law.”

Humiliated, Mr Odinga was forced to eat humble pie, with Mr Ruto, who had declared presidential ambitions in the 2012 election (held in 2013), surviving removal from office and possible prosecution.

However, he only enjoyed the trappings of power of his swanky office at Kilimo House for two months before he was moved to the Higher Education docket on April 21, 2010, with Dr Sally Kosgei being appointed as his replacement. 

But the worst was yet to come for Mr Ruto, as a wounded Odinga sought to have the last laugh.

On August 24, 2011, Mr Ruto was relieved of his ministerial duties and retreated to his humble parliamentary office as the MP for Eldoret North Constituency.

Read: Raila Odinga: A life lived in defiance of silence 

Mr Ruto, who was facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over Kenya's 2008 post-election violence that claimed over 1,100 lives, was replaced by Professor Margaret Kamar.

It was during his short stint at the Higher Education ministry that Kenya’s serving president cultivated good relations with Mwai Kibaki’s State House, and increasingly became close to the then Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

Bound by the ICC cases, the two would eventually forge a political union that saw them clinch the presidency in 2013 on a Jubilee Party ticket to the chagrin of Mr Odinga.

Mr Odinga, the opposition leader, continued with his anti-corruption stance and campaigns even after his political handshakes with Mr Kenyatta in 2018 and Dr Ruto in 2025.

In his 2013, 2017 and 2022 manifestos for presidential campaigns, he outlined elaborate plans to combat economic crime, including stiff fines and immediate suspension of suspected perpetrators from government. 

“If we don’t deal with the scourge of corruption, life will continue being hard for the majority of Kenyans because what is supposed to grow the economy gets stolen,” Mr Odinga tweeted on January 18, 2020.

“We need stiff sentences for the corrupt so that they stop masquerading as heroes and philanthropists among us.”

On June 10, 2021, he told the BBC: “Nations that have successfully fought corruption first regarded it as a cancer to be eradicated as soon as detected. Sanitisation began from the top. Keeping off is not an option. Let’s stand together and face the corrupt who are keen to see that corruption isn't discussed.”

During the State funeral at Nyayo Stadium, mourners, including Odinga’s widow, Mama Ida, saluted the former ODM supremo for his relentless fight against corruption.

“He hated dishonesty, he hated the greed, the greed that had led to stealing from the public, that leads to corruption. Those are the kinds of things that Raila would not have liked to see,” Mrs Odinga said.

And in his sermon, Bishop David Kodia of Bondo Diocese of the Anglican Church of Kenya castigated corrupt and compromised government leaders who, he said, were hellbent on buying political support instead of providing solutions to the many challenges facing the country.

The bishop described the late Odinga as a man of integrity who never used wealth or political influence to manipulate the masses.

“Baba never used the power of money to intimidate people. Today, we have bad manners among our politicians. They have taught our people the culture of handouts,” Dr Kodia said as mourners applauded in agreement.

He warned that Kenya was slowly losing its moral compass as leaders prioritise money and personal gain over service and values, undermining democracy and accountability.

His statement comes at a time when top officials in Dr Ruto’s administration and MPs allied to his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have been touring different parts of the country and donating millions of shillings in the name of economic empowerment as they gun for his second term.

“If there’s anyone here at whatever level who has looted this country, you stand the chance to be condemned,” the Man of God declared amid cheers from the crowd.

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