Ruto squandered second chance to correct mistakes after protests

President William Ruto when engaged Kenyan youths on X space at State House, Nairobi. [PCS]

In one of her memorable speeches, 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 must justify the means. Yet, when the Kenyan youths staged unprecedented demonstrations that led to the rummaging of the National Assembly, it was widely expected that President Ruto would seize the opportunity to demonstrate statesmanship, initiate consequential reforms, and introduce a paradigm shift in the governance structures.

In fact, the demonstrating youths retreated, and the country regained relative stability. Kenyans gave President 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.

Sadly, the above interpretation of what entails second chances doesn’t resonate with President 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 opportunity to fix the mistakes that has dogged his government since he became president.

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 has demonstrated how lopsided President Ruto’s priorities are.

Instead of investing resources to transform Kenya, he invested it towards the process of impeaching 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 health care 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 President Ruto’s administration, corruption has skyrocketed, negatively impacting the socio-political and economic landscape of the country. According to Transparency International, Kenya became more corrupt under President Ruto, with Corruption Perception Index (CPI) indicating that the country scored 31 out of 100.

Under President Ruto’s administration, the rule of law has become an endangered species. Instead of promoting justice, lawful arrests, and fair trials, President Ruto 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.

Rather than creating a conducive environment that can promote economic growth and stimulate job creation, President Ruto has prioritised political mobilisation, envisioning the next general elections. Yet, most citizens are averse to political shenanigans. Their priority is the alleviation of harsh economic realities, transformation of the economy, and standard service delivery. 

Despite education sector experiencing enormous challenges such as insufficient or dilapidated physical infrastructure, unmatched teacher-student ration, and lack of learning materials and equipment-President Ruto appears to be unbothered. As students in higher learning institutions continue to experience tuition challenges necessitated by government’s malfunctioning funding model, President Ruto is either unwilling or unable to do something to ensure that a proper funding model is instituted to prevent potential drop out of students from colleges.

Additionally, President Ruto has disarmed and impaired the opposition’s judgment so much so that the tenets of constitutional democracy, annunciating Kenya as a multi-party democracy are slowly but steadily being eroded. The line between the government and opposition, on the one hand, and the Executive and the Parliament, on the other hand, is blurred so much so that Kenyans are increasingly becoming vulnerable to potential autocracy where the President is the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.

By and large, the Judiciary is the only remaining line of defence between an all-powerful president and the vulnerable citizens. Consequently, the Judiciary must assert its independence and exert desperately needed checks and balances to neutralise an all-powerful president who has lavishly squandered a second chance to do the right thing.