President William Ruto and ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during their tour of the Nyanza region.
President William Ruto’s tour of Nyanza has illustrated the radical political realignment since the disputed election nearly two years ago and exposed a quiet power struggle with his deputy beneath the show of camaraderie.
Last month, the President stunned Kenyans by naming political foes in his Cabinet after rapprochement with opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had relentlessly fought any idea of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader sharing a piece of the Kenya Kwanza alliance government.
The President and his deputy have had tense relations recently.
While the visit to the stronghold of their arch rival-turned-ally has presented them with a stage to demonstrate their camaraderie, surprise developments have exposed the bumbling tensions beneath.
With the intensifying scramble to win over Mr Odinga’s turf, the President had an upper hand touring the region. While it was expected that Mr Gachagua would not have an easy time there because of his antagonistic statements in the past, he too is receiving wild cheers.
This surprise development has exposed the silent war in the presidency after the offices of the two leaders separately sent out video footage to capture portions they were cheered by crowds.
State House on Wednesday evening shared video, mostly of Dr Ruto being warmly received in Migori and Kisumu counties.
The following day, Mr Gachagua’s team shared edited video footage of the Wednesday activities to capture instances he was cheered.
President William Ruto admires a giant fish he was gifted by residents of Kisumu on August 29, 2024.
In the footage by the DP’s team taken in Migori and Nyatike, the President is only shown when inviting his deputy, with the remaining part of the shared footage all about Mr Gachagua’s speeches that are full of praises for Mr Odinga.
The two politicians were uncharacteristically received well in the once-hostile region, staging a ringing endorsement of Mr Odinga.
Things have gone full circle politically from a leader they have in the past used as their boogeyman, to praising him as a visionary in an effort to endear themselves to Nyanza people.
There was a subtle but evident contest for the attention of Mr Odinga’s supporters by Dr Ruto and Mr Gachagua.
It was largely expected that the President would receive a warm welcome after he incorporated allies of Mr Odinga in his Cabinet. They are Mr John Mbadi, who has been handed the National Treasury and National Planning docket, Mr Opiyo Wandayi (Energy and Petroleum), Mr Ali Hassan Joho (Mining and Blue Economy), Mr Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and SMEs) and Ms Beatrice Askul (East Afrcan Community).
Mr Gachagua has been a virulent critic of Mr Odinga in the past.
In demonstrating his dislike for the opposition chief, the DP last year went to the extent of telling all who cared to listen that he had set traps at State House to ensure Mr Odinga would not work with President Ruto.
His infamous description of Kenya Kwanza administration as a shareholding company was seen as targeting the region that voted for the opposition almost to a man.
It was, therefore, expected by some that the Nyanza tour would be used to box Mr Gachagua to a corner since he did not seemingly approve of opposition figures being given Cabinet jobs.
Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru “Major Donk”, who is an ally of Mr Gachagua, said State House sharing video footage of the President only is not new.
Mr Gathiru added that even at the height of the fallout between then-President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto, Mr Kenyatta’s team edited out Dr Ruto from the clips shared online.
“That, however, did not stop Kenyans from voting for Ruto. Definitely, it is not the President doing that, but his handlers who may not like the Deputy President. It will amount to nothing,” he said.
The Embakasi Central lawmaker said Mr Gachagua got a rousing welcome in Nyanza “because he speaks the truth and stands for what is right”.
In the first two days of the trip, Dr Ruto and Mr Gachagua seized every moment to heap praises on Mr Odinga, whom the President has since unveiled as the country’s candidate for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.
Their remarks about the veteran politician are the opposite of what they said about him in the run up to the August 9, 2022 General Election.
The pair accused Mr Odinga of contributing to the disintegration of the Jubilee administration through the March 9, 2018 handshake.
They accused Mr Odinga of attempting to force a handshake on Dr Ruto through opposition-led protests against the high cost of living early last year.
“These protests are not in public interest but intended to advance selfish business interests. I tell them to forget about a handshake. We know you and we can see you,” Dr Ruto said on January 24, last year.
He had castigated the Jubilee government, in which he was deputy, during his Chatham House address in London in March 2022.
“Today in Kenya, we have a mongrel of a government. You don’t know whether it is the government that is in opposition or the opposition is in government. The leader of the opposition is a project of the system,” he said.
For a president who was literally under siege for close to two months from the nationwide youth-led protests, the crowds, the cheers and warm reception in Nyanza offered good optics for his shaky political support in Mr Gachagua’s Mt Kenya region.
To endear himself to the region that voted against him in 2022, he had to shower praises on Mr Odinga.
“We have abandoned the retrogressive politics of division. We are better off with the new inclusive government that sets Kenya for a take-off,” the President said in Homa Bay Thursday.
He told the crowd that Mr Odinga’s decision to support him deliver on his mandate is based on their past relations.
“I was once his foot soldier, and there was a time I once helped him. If Baba returns a hand to help me, is there any problem?” President Ruto asked.
“I and Baba (Raila), have come from far. We have been close for many years. I took the decision to help Baba because I respect him. He is a reformist who has fought for democracy. This is why we have resolved as the East African Community to support him for the AU Commission seat.”
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita said the warm welcome the President got indicates that Nyanza is ready to work with Dr Ruto.
Mr Nyamita added that the region has been yearning to be part of the government.
“The appointments of our brothers to the Cabinet and the allocation of money to finance projects have excited the region. There is now a feeling that our political future as a region is with Dr Ruto and not any other politician,” he said.
He added that Mr Gachagua no longer says bad things about Mr Odinga.
Homa Bay United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Silas Jakakimba described President Ruto’s visit as different, timely and unprecedented. UDA is President Ruto’s party and the main outfit in the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.
“It is unprecedented because for the first time since 2007, the President has been accorded a hero’s welcome in Migori and Kisumu and Homa Bay counties,” Mr Jakakimba said.
“In 2007, he was the other pulse of Mr Odinga’s presidential campaigns and weighed into it with a lot of energy.
He now returns as President who has broached rapprochement with Mr Odinga in spite of the past differences.”
Mr Jakakimba added that the differences between Mr Odinga and President Ruto have never been personal but purely a “methodology question” – the method and means each believed Kenya would develop.
“Our people appreciate this. That is why they have fully embraced the President, premised on his deliberate approach to proffer equal services and balanced development across the entire nation,” he said.
Muhoroni MP Onyango K’Oyoo told the Nation that leaders from Nyanza had a meeting with the President and realised that he means well for the region.
“We discussed with him many projects for the region, including revival of the sugar sector, the Soin-Koru dam and others. He committed to help the region realise its potential,” Mr K’Oyoo said.
But Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni, who is opposed to the deal between Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga, said the intention of the President and his deputy is to inherit the veteran opposition leader’s support base.
Mr Kioni said even the AU Commission bid supported by the government is only meant to endear the President to Nyanza.
He added that Mr Odinga “will soon realise that Ruto is not genuine in his support for him”.
“Ruto thinks that with the exit of Raila, he can inherit his Nyanza and other support base as replacement for Mt Kenya that has since moved from UDA,” he said.
During the official unveiling of Mr Odinga for AU seat in Nairobi on Tuesday, Mr Gachagua said he has had no problem with the ODM leader.
“As a truthful man, I had nothing against him. We were only competing for the same position,” Mr Gachagua said.
“We’re going to unveil the transformation of Raila Odinga from a national leader to an African statesman. As leaders, we have learnt lessons of resilience, endurance, and perseverance from him.”
