Shocking, hilarious things that Kanchory says about Ruto, Uhuru, Raila, Junet, Farouk in his tell-all book, 'Why Baba is not the 5th'

"According to him, Uhuru was then entirely captive to the likes of Hon. John Michuki and Hon. Njenga Karume and would only do what they sanctioned.

Raila Odinga

He says his greatest weakness is his predictability, and that the enigma in him has long been decoded. He says it is now fairly easy for Baba's friends and foes alike to predict his next move or reaction with near certainty.

"Unlike Eneke the bird that learnt to fly without perching because men have learnt to shoot without missing, Baba makes the mistake of perching on the same twig over and over again, making himself easy prey for a lethal political marksman like William Ruto," he writes.

He says one common mistake everyone dealing with Raila invariably makes is assuming he has all the answers and that he always has a plan: "Baba encourages this perception with his mystic and stoic mien and the evasion of any scrutiny or interrogation."

William Ruto

He describes him as a character "who deserves to be studied in the art of politics and power" and a "highly predatory politician."He says Ruto is a master of appearances and knows that perceptions can be more compelling than reality. He is gifted in doublespeak and his words should never be taken at face value. He is highly proficient and quick in his manoeuvres.

"With his oratory skills and repetitive rhetoric of his deputy, it is much easier for Ruto administration to make things appear better than to actually make them so," he says.

He compares Ruto to the tortoise in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart who used his gift of the gab and cunningness to convince the birds that he was not only a changed man but that he was one of them, securing an invitation to a great feast in the sky.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

He claims Junet would, many times, say what Raila wanted to hear, summing it up thus: "It was a case of the blind leading the blind."

Prof Makau Mutua

Kanchory describes him as a most pleasant and affable guy who is the last person you can quarrel with. He however says he was ill suited to head a command centre, because of his "eternal optimist" outlook which is undesirable in politics.

"In the chaos of a crumbling command centre, the SUNY distinguished professor who had earlier been placed in overall command ended up being a blind, deaf, mute, lame mouse that sees no evil, hears no evil, says no evil and does no evil," he writes.

Further he faults Mutua for lack of burning desire to win the election. He says he figured this out when he asked Mutua what he would like to be in Raila's government: "He categorically answered that he did not intend to serve in any capacity. This was a bit disturbing to me," he writes.

Farouk Kibet

He describes him as Ruto's highly trusted gatekeeper and point man. At the time Kanchory was hobnobbing with Ruto, he says, Kibet was a nice chap and they got along very well.

"He followed William Ruto everywhere much to the latter's chagrin and would, on occasion, attract the open rebuke and ridicule of his benefactor, who considered him an idler."

Nixon Korir

He describes him as law graduate "who chose to be a receptionist in William Ruto's private office rather than pursue a career in law." He says while perched at Ruto's Transnational Plaza office, Korir would occasionally ask him to plead his case with the boss, especially on the matter of "a small allowance."

"He once emphasised the point by saying his girlfriend would soon leave him as he could not even afford to take her out for coffee."

Kanchory says when he told Ruto the story, complete with the dramatisation of a nearly bolting damsel in distress, he laughed his head off.