Boda boda rider seeks to unseat tycoon MP Swarup Mishra
Felix Rutto (centre), a boda-boda rider and an aspirant for the Kesses Parliamentary seat in Uasin Gishu County campaigns in Eldoret town on March 23, 2022. He is seeking to unseat current MP Swarup Mishra.
In Kenya, it is widely believed politics is an expensive game played mainly by the rich with deep pockets, most of whom own top of the range vehicles that they use to cruise on dusty village roads as they hunt for elective seats.
To rein in campaign spending, the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) August 2021, gazetted limits for candidates.
For instance, in Uasin Gishu County, a candidate for a parliamentary seat was allowed to spend up to Sh42 million on their campaigns, although MPs later quashed the Gazette notice.
But for a boda boda rider in Kesses who collected Sh125,000 from friends for his nomination fee, raising even Sh1 million to fund his campaigns for an MP’s seat is a mirage.
Felix Rutto is seeking to unseat Kesses MP Swarup Mishra in the August polls.
Meet Felix Ruto, 29, locally known as ‘Hustler Mdogo’, who has declared his candidacy for the Kesses parliamentary seat.
He is looking forward to battling it out with the incumbent MP Swarup Mishra on August 9, that is if he trounces five other aspirants for the seat in the April UDA party nominations. Mr Mishra has hinted that he will defend his seat as an independent candidate.
Facing Mr Ruto head-on in the UDA primaries are former Uasin Gishu Finance executive Julius Rutto, former county assembly Speaker Isaac Terer, businessman Joseph Kemboi, former area MP James Bett and soil scientist Samuel Rono.
Mr Ruto has adorned his motorcycle with campaign signs and uses it to traverse the expansive constituency to seek votes.
Felix Ruto uses his motorcycle to traverse the expansive Kesses constituency in Uasin Gishu county, hunting for votes.
Unlike his competitors, he has not mounted vehicles with blaring music systems singing his praises. But he has made good use of his motorcycle to launch door-to-door campaigns.
“I have what it takes to defeat Mr Mishra, though in terms of wealth we are worlds apart,” Mr Ruto told the Nation when we caught up with him in Eldoret.
His leadership star has been rising from his younger days, when he was elected class representative at Kiptega Primary School, rising to become the school captain.
He replicated that feat at Kiptega High School and subsequently at Laikipia University, where he played a key role in the students’ association as the North Rift Students’ Association chairman.
But this leadership journey almost came to naught in 2020, when elders in his Kiptega village were startled by his quest to become MP.
He had gone to seek the elders’ blessings, announcing his intention to contest the MP’s seat in the 2022 General Election.
“They were uncertain about how I would fund my campaigns, reminding me that election was a game of oiled individuals,” he recalled.
Nonetheless, they gave him their blessings and have been there to guide him since, he said.
“Some even saw me as a joker but I have never disappointed them whenever I am given an audience to state my political ambition. I am not blowing my own trumpet, but my words have been from the heart, not to seek votes but to inspire people,” he said.
Felix Rutto's supporters campaign for him in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on March 23, 2022.
His friends had stepped in and helped him raise the party nomination fee. After being cleared, he has been on the road marshalling votes.
“I do not have a big car like my opponents, nor do I have campaign posters and banners. I felt my posters will be overrun by opponents,” explained the father of three.
Mr Ruto, the last-born in a family of 11 children, denies that he is looking for sympathy votes.
“I believe in what is inside a person more than what we see outside. I am not looking for sympathy votes. The money factor aside, I believe my manifesto is superior to that of my competitors,” he said.
About dishing out money, which is characteristic of Kenyan politics, Mr Ruto says he hasn’t had a lot of problems, since voters know he is a commoner and rarely ask for freebies.
“I have even been to changaa dens, but I have spent no coin. If someone asks for handouts, the rest come to my defence to reprimand them, reminding them that I am one of them,” he said.
Mr Silas Kirwa, a resident of Kesses, said he decided to campaign for Mr Ruto because he is convinced about the sincerity of his heart.
“We have seen him grow and how he has been rallying fellow youths for a common course. He has formed and supervised several groups, which are now very vibrant and I am convinced if given a higher seat, he will perform extremely well,” he said.
“We are not bothered about his financial background, but what he stands for.”
Mr Ruto, said Sigilai Tallam, believes in uplifting people in low cadres through civic education.
“He is among individuals who believe in teaching a man how to fish, rather than giving them a morsel. His ideas have helped many youths access loans and grants. That is why we are campaigning for him because he is selfless,” he said.
If elected, he promises to give special attention to education, job creation and youth empowerment, among others.
“At the moment it is the politically correct who enjoy better services and even infrastructure, and this is what I intend to rectify. This is what gave me motivation to contest the MP seat because equitable distribution of resources has been lacking for too long,” he said.
