President William Ruto addresses residents of Muhuru Bay in Migori County after he launched the construction of Muhuru Bay Pier in Nyatike on May 5, 2025.
“Any leader who is encouraging early electoral campaigns does not wish our country well. It is unpatriotic to put our country in a perpetual campaign mode.”
Those words from the mouth of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki might have been aimed at his ousted predecessor Rigathi Gachagua, but should apply even more to President William Ruto.
The ink had hardly dried on his taking the oath of office in 2022, and the President abdicated his core responsibilities to embark on premature electioneering. It is not for nothing that he has become known as the “Sunroof President” for the amount of time and energy he expends on campaign tours, popping out of his limousine at impromptu stops to deliver an endless stream of roadside policy declarations.
He spends inordinate amounts of time on political roadshows under the guise of launching or inspecting development projects, diverting into his election campaign public money that would be better expended on under-funded public services.
One wonders if President Ruto makes the connection between underwhelming delivery on his flagship programmes and the amount of time he spends politicking.
E thnic animosity
Prof Kindiki also hit out at politicians allegedly fanning ethnic animosity, likening them to Al-Shabaab terrorists or Rift Valley bandits. The warning was aimed at Mr Gachagua, but could also apply to President Ruto.
At a separate gathering also over the weekend, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior Kipchumba Murkomen was spitting fire and brimstone, threatening to have Mr Gachagua arrested. In the first instance, Mr Murkomen forgot that being the minister in charge of national security does not give him arrest and prosecution powers.
The CS, like the DP, was a lawyer before he diverted into politics. Both of them surely know that the drafters of the Kenya Constitution, in their wisdom, insulated the police, the prosecution authorities and the courts from political direction.
Considering how they seem have reduced themselves to ruling party youth-wingers, we might have reason to doubt whether the Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin, the Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja and the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga appreciate the independence granted their offices.
President Ruto campaigned on the promise to halt weaponisation of the justice, law and order institutions, which was rampant under his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta. However, we have seen alarming trends in police abductions and killings of government critics, as well as arrests and prosecutions seemingly directed by political considerations
In the Nyayoesque system where blind loyalty and sycophancy enjoys a premium over performance and intelligence, the likes of Prof Kindiki and Mr Murkomen may well catch a kindly eye from President Ruto.
Many in President Ruto’s inner circle suffer the arrogance of power, but forget that their statements only expose the regime’s dictatorial tendencies and contempt for human rights and rule of law.
In misguided enthusiasm, it doesn’t strike them that are playing right into Mr Gachagua’s hands. The former DP would love nothing better than to be arrested, an action that would only buttress his quest to stand as the biggest threat to President Ruto’s prospects for a second term.
Deflect attention
The threats against Mr Gachagua also serve to deflect attention from his own failings.
If effective branding, image and messaging is an essential element of any undertaking that seeks to attract the attention of the public, Mr Gachagua falls flat as seen by that amateurish rendering of the logo for his new political vehicle, the Democracy for Citizens Party. The name of the party in itself is not catchy, it doesn’t roll off the tongue. The logo, however, is the real disaster. Whoever executed the artwork should be executed.
More importantly, however, the logo might well expose Mr Gachagua’s over-bearing hand in that he probably did not see the need for professional advice, and personally gave the brief to his village signwriter.
There’s a lot else happening that depicts a politician who accuses President Ruto of listening to nobody but himself, but also acts exactly the same.
Mr Gachagua was impeached as Deputy President for his bullying ways and the obsession with his ethnic “morima” agenda. In opposition, it is evident that he has not learnt a few lessons. He wants to be the alpha and omega of opposition politics, using his ethnic numbers to force counterparts from other parties into doing his bidding.
He displays a condescending and bullying attitude, making unreasonable demands of other opposition leaders as if he is the majority and controlling shareholder in the nascent alliance. He should at least learn to listen, otherwise the anti-Ruto alliance will be dead in arrival.
[email protected]; @MachariaGaitho.
