Why, Like others before him, Ruto will have a hard time dealing a killer blow to graft

President Ruto with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua at Kenya Revenue Authority during a past event. [PSCU]

Tears rolled down his cheeks. His shrivelled face gave his crimson eyes a distant melancholic look. I had never seen my father cry.

He was a giant, dreaded and respected in equal measure. A man no one wanted to pick a fight with. I had only seen him smile once. On that sunny afternoon, he paraded me in his favourite pub and announced to everyone: "See, here is my son who has made me very proud by passing his primary school national exams."

I looked around the pub situated along Nakuru's Kanu Street and felt special. My father had never praised me before. I was given a big bottle of soda which I sipped slowly with pride. But today, I held his hand as he wept. "What is the matter, Dad?" I asked. "My son, we were fools. We were fooled. They played us. While our Kikuyu colleagues acquired land and properties in the cities, the rest of us were urged to invest back in our villages."