Ruto squandered second chance to correct mistakes

In one of her memorable speeches, a renowned American hip hop star, Shawntae Harris-Dupart, popularly known by her stage name as Da Brat, once quipped: “It’s so different when you get a second chance to come back out and do your thing, you’re more humble, you appreciate it more, you know what not to do this second time round.”

Da Brat’s assertion can be predicated on two presuppositions. One, second chances provide an opportunity for one to prove that the first mistakes weren’t intentional and can be rectified. Two, second chances afford an opportunity to demonstrate a sense of remorsefulness and willingness to right the wrongs.

However, it seems President William Ruto isn’t concerned about righting the wrongs. To him, the end justifies the means. Yet, when the youth staged unprecedented protests that led to the rummaging of the National Assembly, it was widely expected that Dr Ruto would seize the opportunity to demonstrate statesmanship, initiate consequential reforms, and introduce a paradigm shift in governance. In fact, the demonstrating youths retreated, and the country regained relative stability.

 Kenyans gave Dr Ruto the benefit of the doubt by handing him a second chance to fix the country. The people anticipated that the President would showcase his readiness and willingness to take advantage of the second chance to implement a people-centric manifesto.

Second chances

Sadly, the above interpretation of what entails second chances doesn’t resonate with Dr Ruto. For him, second chances are an absolute advantage to exhibit political chicanery, organise politics, and even disparage the same citizens who afforded him unmerited chance to correct mistakes. From my vantage viewpoint, Dr Ruto has squandered a golden chance to fix the mistakes that have dogged his government.

It is obvious that the President has retreated to the failed ways of doing things. He has coalesced with the opposition to consolidate political power to rule without sufficient checks and balances. The impeachment of his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, demonstrated how lopsided his priorities are. Instead of investing resources to transform Kenya, he invested it in the impeachment of his deputy. Yet, most Kenyans consider the impeachment as inconsequential, non-beneficial and not a priority against the backdrop of high cost of living, diminishing healthcare system, unemployment, and corruption.

Instead of waging an all-out war against corruption, which is the biggest impediment to Kenya’s economic take-off, the President continues to exhibit indifference in the face of this dangerous scourge that continues to inhibit Kenya’s potential. No wonder then that under the Ruto administration, corruption has skyrocketed, hurting the socio-political and economic landscape of the country. According to Transparency International, Kenya has become more corrupt under Dr Ruto, with Corruption Perception Index indicating Kenya scored 31 out of 100.

Under President Ruto, the rule of law has become an endangered species. Instead of promoting justice, lawful arrests, and fair trials, he has not only hurled threats against the Judiciary but consistently presided over flagrant violations of human rights with unabated extrajudicial killings and frightening abductions of citizens who participate in constitutionally protected activities such as protests.

Mr Ambuka is a human rights consultant based in Pennsylvania, USA . [email protected]