Ruto-Gachagua fallout exposes political mistrust

Watching the fallout between President William Ruto and his ousted deputy Rigathi Gachagua is beyond surreal.

It adds to the nation’s history of dysfunctional and treacherous politics and self-serving politicos while offering a tutorial on aspects of Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power, including Rule #1: Never Outshine the Master.

The uproar has yielded rhetoric that, in turn, has given credence to aspects of Kenya’s history some have sought to revise, dismiss, or vehemently deny and chalk up to “jealousy” by persons whose communities have not occupied State House. Notably, Gachagua’s comments offer confirmation that Kenya’s pre- and post-independence politics remain predicated on ethnic loyalty, fake appeals to patriotism/nationalism and populism.

For my American friends, what’s currently happening between Kenya’s deputy president and his boss, is akin to a public spat between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden or then-VP Mike Pence and then-President Donald Trump.

Such incidents are so rare in America that only three instances of acrimonious public spats between an American president and their deputy have been recorded over the last century. The most recent example occurred in 2021 during the final days of Trump’s rule.

The 44th POTUS pressured VP Mike Pence to go against his constitutionally mandated role. As head of the Senate, VP Pence was to preside over the joint session of Congress as the Electoral College votes were being counted. Knowing this was his last chance to prevent certification of Biden’s presidency, Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to storm Congress and disrupt the occasion. The ensuing violence resulted in five deaths and four linked suicides. Order was subsequently restored, and the Pence-led US Congress certified Biden’s presidency on January 7, 2021.

In Kenya, public spats between occupants of the two top political officers have been de rigueur throughout the country’s 60 plus years of independence. In this latest version, the fallout appears multi-dimensional. It not only pits Ruto against Gachagua but also appears to have an intra-regional angle. National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Riggy G, both members of the ruling KK coalition, appear to be battling for supremacy in Mt Kenya. This region, home to the GEMA (Gikuyu, Embu, Meru) community, has yielded 60 per cent of Kenya’s presidents, including father and son presidencies. The war of words between these two “Murima” politicos has also exposed the treachery perpetrated against anyone from outside the region vying for or close to the presidency.

Like his Mt Kenya predecessors, Mwai Kibaki and Jomo Kenyatta, who betrayed individuals whose support garnered them the Kenyan presidency, Uhuru Kenyatta betrayed Ruto by throwing his support and vast familial resources behind Ruto’s challengers, Raila Odinga and Martha Karua.

The Uhuru-backed ticket lost to Ruto and Gachagua, the two principals now divorcing bitterly. Lastly, Gachagua has revealed a nugget that only adds to the scope of duplicity surrounding the race for State House. At some point during the country’s ethnopolitical musical chairs, Kalonzo Musyoka supported Kibaki, “but we never reciprocated.”

By now, it should be clear who the “We” Gachagua is referring to. The only constant here is change. Or is it the more things change...?

The writer is a biotech professional in US