It is understandable why President William Ruto may sometimes be persuaded to look the other way by pushing through policies perceived to be unpopular with the people.
After all, his political career, spanning a quarter of a century, is replete with instances of him going against the political tide yet still emerging triumphant.
Variously described as an indefatigable politician, unrelenting go-getter and a schemer per excellence who, to use his own words, is impatient with “sloppy characters”, President Ruto has worked hard and smart towards achieving whatever he puts his mind to.
For his supporters, his knack for somehow manouevring through major political hurdles sets him above his peers as a reliable and believable politician.
In the last year’s presidential contest, where he came up against the formidable opposition of seasoned politician Raila Odinga , openly backed by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta , is a case in point that sealed Ruto’s bond of trust with his supporters.
Although politicians allied to Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party still have doubts about the credibility of the poll outcome, they, too, concede that Ruto staged an electrifying campaign and that his “hustler narrative” was a masterstroke.
That he outmanoeuvred the most influential politicians in Kenya at the time, Odinga and Kenyatta, scions of founding President Jomo Kenyatta and Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, confirmed Ruto’s knack for surmounting odds.
Little wonder, then, that some like National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro and Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei now believe that nothing whatsoever can stand in the way of the President.
Ahead of Parliament’s main vote on the controversial Finance Bill 2023 , a chest-thumping Osoro stated rather casually that the Bill would be passed into law “because neither President Ruto nor the government can be defeated”.
It is this very confidence that Cherargei exudes when he observes that, “if they (Odinga and Kenyatta) failed to stop him (Ruto) from ascending to power when they were influential and enjoyed instruments of power, what miracle can they pull from the outside to destabilise the President?”.
This particular feeling is buttressed by none other than the country’s number two-in-command, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua , who has even stated that the President and the Kenya Kwanza Alliance-led government do not require counsel or advice from anybody on how to run the affairs of the country. Having made it against all odds, the DP is categorical that his boss will march on unrestricted.
To the rival Azimio camp, however, the perception by the President’s men and women is a demonstration of indifference and sheer arrogance.
“It is not just arrogance; theirs is total intransigence. I can assure you this is neither good for them nor the country and soon time will prove me right,” the National Assembly’s Leader of Minority, Opiyo Wandayi, told The Weekly Review .
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The import of Wandayi’s sentiments, shared by many politicians, including pundits allied to Kenya Kwanza Alliance, is that Ruto’s political exploits and recent chain of successes may be getting to the heads of his supporters; that his conquests might have shaped the President into a cocky, arrogant and overconfident politician who is unwilling to listen to counsel from key allies, let alone his so-called “advisors”.
Curiously, some of the professionals who played active roles in the President’s campaigns, such as Dr David Ndii, Dr Barrack Muluka and Canada-based barrister Dr Miguna Miguna, have lately been “advising” their boss through public forums.
Miguna Miguna, for instance, appeared to make a call to the President to embrace peace and “govern well” in a tweet posted on July 13: “Breaking things up is the easiest thing. Any idiot can throw a stone and break up glass, or pull a trigger and kill an innocent person. To create, build, transform, nurture and govern well is the real deal.”
And only last week, Muluka, who was a member of the President’s think-tank during the campaigns and is now a communications adviser in the Information and ICT ministry, recently warned of a revolution in the making and appealed to the President to listen to the people and address their plight.
Earlier in the year, Ndii, the President’s chief economic advisor, expressed his frustration over the pilferage of public funds in government institutions by high-profile politicians, saying the trend went against the country’s prevailing economic situation.
That the President’s men are addressing Kenyans on some of these issues and not the Head of State directly, says Wandayi, is a pointer to the fact that either he is not listening to his foot soldiers or he is blinded by overconfidence and believes he can – just like he did on the campaign trail – go against the wind and have his way.
The Ugunja MP, as well as some politicians allied to President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), opines that, in the face of the high cost of living and the people’s increased disillusionment with the government, the President needs to put his ears to the ground, soften his stand and act accordingly.
Right from 1997, when he joined elective politics and wrested the Eldoret North parliamentary seat from seasoned and well-connected politician Reuben Chesire, Ruto has always been energised to plot political conquests. His victory over Chesire, against the advice of President Daniel arap Moi, was not the only time that he defied the second President.
Ruto went on to bolt out of the then-ruling party, Kanu, in the process inheriting Moi’s political constituency in the Rift Valley region, against the old man’s wishes. He pulled a similar stunt against the fourth President, Uhuru Kenyatta, a move that led to his emergence as fifth President against all odds.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who regards the President as “my boss and my buddy”, says Ruto has always has had his way around political challenges and impediments. Describing the President as energetic, workaholic and focussed, the CS believes Ruto is one of the most dependable politicians in the country.
At the height of internal battles within the Jubilee administration in the last government, Duale was confronted with the challenge of choosing between President Kenyatta and then DP Ruto. He opted to team up with Ruto, citing the latter’s political astuteness and never-say-die spirit. In the process, he lost his then coveted position as National Assembly Leader of Majority.
Much as their belief in Ruto is a crucial factor credited for uniting members of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, there is concern that the President’s allies “are taking this joke too far”.
Wandayi believes the entire Kenya Kwanza brigade is blinded by Ruto’s magical antics “even in the face of the people’s protests and defiance”.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka concurs, stating that the government can afford the luxury of using diversionary tactics by focusing on the former Prime Minister instead of facing the challenge at hand squarely because of self-belief and confidence: “They think they can easily skirt around these issues and fool their way again into avoiding responsibility. The ongoing mass action is not about Raila but the ordinary Kenyans. What you are witnessing are deliberate shifts driven majorly by arrogance and Ruto’s overconfidence.”
With growing displeasure over his style of leadership and the people’s rage over the increased economic burden, it remains to be seen whether the President can manouevre his way around the current challenge.
