Ruto has lost political authority in the challenge mounted by Azimio

The colonial state removed the sense of legitimacy from African institutions and bestowed it to offices in London, acting through appointees in Nairobi and their African surrogates. As the chiefs imposed colonial dicta, they had statutory power to govern but they lost legitimacy in the eyes of the governed. There arose individuals with authority to address their grievance by challenging the legitimacy of the colonial state.

In the contest for believability between Governor Edward Northey and political agitator Harry Thuku, the 'natives' accepted Thuku and even when Northey deported Thuku to Kismayu, Thuku's authority remained intact, but Northey was sent packing. The same denial of legitimacy to the colonial state made Jomo Kenyatta authoritative both intellectually and in practical anti-colonial politics.

With Kenyatta as the authoritative inspiration, those in the Mau Mau War denied the legitimacy of the colonial state. It led to the 1963 independence ceremony with Kenyatta acquiring statutory powers as the post-colonial governor. One of the tragedies of the Mau Mau War was that its participants became expendable. In the process, Kenyatta told his followers and admirers to forget tactics and strategies in the struggle for independence.

Losing authority over his former supporters, he increasingly appeared illegitimate. Former anti-colonial colleagues and admirers like Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Bildad Kaggia, JM Kariuki, Achieng Oneko, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o sharpened their criticism over the new post-colonial Kenyatta; a political stranger. He increasingly appeared illegitimate for seemingly betraying the anti-colonial struggle. Having lost the confidence of his people, he lost authority over them.

The question of who has authority, and where sense of legitimacy resided, dominated subsequent administrations. In some parts of the country, authority shifted to JM Kariuki and Oginga Odinga because they appeared to address neglected public concerns. Kenneth Matiba became synonymous with the return of the multi-party political system but he never got statutory powers. Mwai Kibaki did, only to have Raila Odinga undercut his sense of authority and legitimacy.

Subsequently, Raila emerged as Kenya's most consequential 21st Century political player with amazing ability to mesmerise and turn foes into disciples. Raila refuses to lose elections and forces winners to accommodate him by making Kenya ungovernable. He did it to Kibaki after 2007 and to Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018. Radiating fear over large voting blocs, he silences likely challengers to his reputation as national political trouble maker, and makes those around him scared of thinking outside his prevailing political thought pattern.

With his inexplicable magic turning Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Wangari, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta into his willing political disciples, he has denied President William Ruto authority and sense of legitimacy in half the country. Ruto, desperately looking for ways to placate Raila, struggles to be legitimate only to display dissonance and administrative failures that erode confidence in him. No longer inspiring, Ruto loses authority; Raila gains.