Ruto ends 2020 as the country’s most maligned, ensnared Number Two
Deputy President William Ruto addresses faithful at Munyange PCEA in Nyeri County on November 1, 2020.
What you need to know:
- At times he has opposed both change of the constitution and Building Bridges Initiative.
That Mr Tuju plots against his boss and goes unpunished shows Dr Ruto is not only a DINO (DP in name only), but also a PLINO (Party Leader in name only).
Twenty-twenty has been a tough year for Deputy President William Ruto. His reputation, politics and presidential ambition have been dented.
Debits easily fill the DP’s reputational, political and presidential succession columns, with no corresponding credits on the balance sheet.
Yet the three-year-long public onslaught of humiliation and diminution continues. The sustained pressure has taken its toll on Dr Ruto. Usually quick-witted and decisive, the DP has this month, and late last, waffled about the upcoming change-the-constitution referendum.
As the collection of signatures to trigger the referendum gathered pace, he has seemed to be of two minds: supporting the referendum while at the same time, a la an indecisive Kalonzo Musyoka, calling for a non-contested plebiscite.
At times he has opposed both change of the constitution and Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), the juggernaut altering the political landscape. Opposing BBI puts Dr Ruto in the cross-hairs of President Kenyatta, and especially his rival, unelected powerman Raila Odinga.
Succession plan
The two own and hog the process to deliver the favoured Kenyatta II succession plan. Now Number Twos are not expected to fight their bosses, mobilise opposition to positions adopted by their parties, or, much less, campaign for the presidency in the face of the incumbent.
But Dr Ruto does it. Thanks to the people-rooted Constitution, the President cannot sack his deputy. But, thanks to Dr Ruto’s defiance, in the amendments to the Constitution inspired by the politicos and dynasties, the President will be able to sack a prime minister or DP.
That’s a new meaning to the phrase ‘it is the grass that suffers when two bulls fight’. However, in this fight, the DP, too, has come off the worse for wear. In May and June, when Kenyans expected him to prove the numerical might and loyalty of his troops in fights in the twin Houses of Parliament, and in the Jubilee Parliamentary Group, the DP failed to bring the receipts.
What followed was a bloodbath. First, the Senate Majority Leader and intellectual sidekick of the DP’s – Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen. Ousted.
Next Majority Whip and Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika. Ousted. Prof Kithure Kindiki, the Tharaka-Nithi senator and DP’s prized strategic thinker and then deputy speaker of the Senate. Ousted.
You could not accuse Garissa MP Aden Duale of lack of verve for his job of Majority Leader in the National Assembly. You could not doubt his loyalty to Jubilee or the government. Ousted.
Like those before him, he was neither incompetent nor unqualified. His politically unforgivable sin was being an ally of the DP’s. Also guilty was Dr Ruto’s ally, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri. He was sacked in January.
Ruto presidency
From governor, Mr Ferdinand Waititu fell from grace to grass in Kiambu in January. From governor, Mr Gideon Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko fell from the stars to the stables in Nairobi nine days ago.
In 2018, Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi appeared to be the anchor for Deputy President William Ruto’s charge to the presidency at the Coast. Then, he unexpectedly went mum and changed tune. He is telling the Coast to get aboard the 2022 train to State House.
She is still a member of Parliament for Malindi, but Ms Aisha Jumwa was charged with murder in October.
When political allies, aides and advisers are in politically instigated and, or, related trouble, the principal is in dire straits. Oftentimes he or she is the target and his or her career is in jeopardy.
Usually the aim is to leave one isolated and, with allies scattered, unable to pose a serious threat. Often sidelined by President Kenyatta, Dr Ruto ends 2020 as Kenya’s most maligned and ensnared Number Two.
Remember that leaked phone call in June 2019 in which Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju plots a 2022 propaganda hit on Dr Ruto anchored on the 2007 poll violence? Programmed turbulence lies ahead for Dr Ruto.
That Mr Tuju plots against his boss and goes unpunished shows Dr Ruto is not only a DINO (DP in name only), but also a PLINO (Party Leader in name only).
So how should he operate in 2021? Throw the gauntlet at President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga? Watch this space.
