Be wary of Ruto's hunger for power

The opening of the Pandora’s box that is 257 bodyguards for Deputy President William Ruto teaches us to steer clear of hollow political agenda. These streets and Twitter keep records. Before any politician tries to spin a web of lies, they better know how to hide their tracks.

It’s stunning how one meeting unravelled the hustler narrative and left it shredded into tiny unsalvageable pieces. The contradiction between the ‘hustler’ propaganda and the reality of its rich proponents could not be more exposed. 

Latest security debacle shows how desperate the DP is in getting to State House that he never pauses to check if there are any bones left in the proverbial skeleton cupboards. His desperation makes one wonder why he needs the presidency if money is no objection and clearly it does not appear to be a problem for him.

Many a poor leader in Africa, would maim and torture to get the chance to amerse wealth. Our Deputy President seems as comfortable as the next US dollar millionaire and it beggars belief why he would desperately want to live in a hybrid prison that is State House. Is there more to his quest for power than meets the eye? 

The only thing that comes to mind is the resurrection of ICC case perhaps; in that his ascension to power may be able to buy him time. Not enough time could help one run away from accountability for injustices allegedly committed in their name. Former President of Sudan, Omar Bashir was not even willing to accommodate Rome Statute that established the ICC or respect UN’s power in prosecution of dictators.

Overtake Jesus Christ

However, as sure as time does, it caught up with him and now ICC awaits. I am not suggesting that is the case with the DP, but it still makes one wonder why he has spread himself so thin to become Kenya’s president. He is pretty much due to overtake Jesus by his closeness to the church.

He is giving away eye watering, suspiciously large sums of money to churches, schools, women groups, boda boda riders and anyone who extends a hand towards his bottomless money pit. He hardly takes a breath between campaigns. His may prove to be the longest and most expensive since multi-party democracy was introduced. Even coronavirus has struggled to dampen it. His breaches of Covid-19 protocols on mass gatherings are sociopathic. 

It has not dawned on him that perhaps these misdemeanours and police guards for his chickens add to the list of impunity that he is drawing up for himself. On top of that, he campaigns on official time and public resources without batting an eyelid. He clearly is having his cake and eating it by refusing to resign to concentrate on campaigning. 

He has unfair advantage over other candidates by campaigning while still in office. I won’t even bother discuss doubts on his PhD. Is this man credible enough to be elected the next President of Kenya? It is up to the voters to decide but I am having my reservations.

Despite my sentiments above, I believe the ballooning bodyguard issue is not a problem for Ruto alone. He may have taken the gold medal by the sheer number of security personnel attached to him but there are many culprits in and out of power abusing their positions and the police by attaching as many security personnel to buildings and items that are private that should not be manned by taxpayer funded police. 

Waste of public resources

Huge security personnel is not necessarily demanded to avert security threats but pump up the egos of those who bask in shallow show of power and aggrandisement. 

For those who think Kenya is dangerous enough to require an army barracks to protect one MP then they need to get out more and visit countries that experience insecurity on tap. We may have our fair number of challenges on small to medium level crimes, but it could not be that bad that we need to attach hundreds of security personnel to one family when majority of ordinary Kenyans are lacking police in their communities. 

Bodyguards’ mania does not hold Kenya’s image in good stead either. If, as a leader you do not feel comfortable to walk down the streets in your country without a bevy of bodyguards in tow, then you are perhaps the security threat we feared all along.

Many of our leaders do not even bother to distinguish what is private and public. Hence, they spend public money for their benefit with impunity to protect their private lives and property. It is time waste of public resources in this manner is reviewed. 

There are many publicly funded institutions struggling for lack of funds when clearly, they lose out because money is being wasted on keeping a few individuals on lifestyles they could otherwise not afford on their salaries. If one Kenyan is not safe, we are all not safe. Let security personnel be divided across the country proportionally to keep us all safe. In the meantime, vote wisely next time.

Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. [email protected]; @kdiguyo