Evil spirits?: William Ruto's change of tone on criticism

 

President William Ruto and Narendra Raval the Executive Chairman of the Devki Group of Companies during the commissioning of the KSh11 billion Devki Iron Ore Pelletization Plant at Manga in Taita-Taveta County. [PCS]

President William Ruto’s “evil spirit” remarks against his critics and a threat from Mining CS Hassan Joho could be an indication of a new Kenya Kwanza strategy to confront growing criticism.

The Head of State on Tuesday condemned those opposed to his projects, equating the criticism to haunts of the evil spirits.

Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Devki Iron Processing Project in Taita Taveta, Ruto questioned why Kenyans were elated when he cancelled the Adani JKIA deal and yet they complain about the poor infrastructure at East Africa’s busiest airport.

“Wakenya tafadhali, kuna pepo chafu ya kupinga kila kitu. Kiwanda kama hii, affordable housing, chanjo ya ng’ombe kuondoa magonjwa, kubadilisha mfumo ndo tuweze kuokoa university zetu, mambo ya afya wanaipinga. Nauliza hii pepo chafu. Imefika wanapinga ata matoleo kanisani, what is this, surely. Yani pepo ya kupinga kila kitu, (Kenyans, please, there is an evil spirit of opposing everything that is hovering around the country, an industry like this one, affordable housing, livestock vaccination, university reforms, health... this is an evil spirit. It has reached to a point that they are refusing church offerings, what is this surely. An evil spirit of rejecting everything). ”

Ruto was not alone. It appears that the Raila Odinga men who joined the Cabinet following a forced reshuffle are shaping up to be the President’s new guns.

Joho expressed outrage, vowing to act against social media users using the internet to vilify Ruto’s administration.

“How can a Kenyan who does not know anything post on social media that Raila Odinga must fall on his quest for African Union Commission chairmanship? How unpatriotic can you be as Kenyans that even one of your own who has a chance to lead you’re saying they must fall? We will come for you, my friend,” he said. 

Joho’s remarks received condemnation from social media and leaders, including ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.

“We (Senate) shall summon the CS when we resume from the recess to explain why he was threatening Kenyans. The problem is that Joho has forgotten that he is no longer a politician, he is no longer a governor but a Cabinet Secretary whose sentiments are taken extremely seriously,” said the Nairobi Senator.

Busia Senator Okiya Omtata posted on his X account: “Hassan Joho, you can’t run this country like a Cartel! We have a Constitution in which the freedom of speech is enshrined. Threatening to come for Kenyans to speak their truth is unpatriotic. Will you come for all the Kenyans? And take them where?” 

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir also expressed his displeasure at the ODM party, which had its members appointed to government after countrywide protests forced Ruto to restructure his Cabinet.

“Sheer arrogance, hubris and sycophancy of ODM ministers and MPs against perceived enemies of the broad-based government is proof that in electing William Ruto, Kenya dodged a bullet. Someone tell ODM ministers in Kenya Kwanza Government that we all know how their excitement will end: In tears! History is replete with what happens to political hirelings. If you are paid to be a cheerleader, you have an expiry date no matter what delusion you entertain,” he posted on X.

87-year-old Drisilla Jumwa from Mwanguwi in jubilation after her house was connected to electricity when President William Ruto launched the Last Mile Electricity Connectivity Project. [PCS]

Last week, Treasury CS John Mbadi told a meeting in his backyard that ODM did not need a candidate in the 2027 presidential election. 

“Ruto and the entire Rift Valley supported us in 2007. It is only fair for us to support him as a community in the next General Election,” Mbadi said. 

Speaking at Kitawa Primary School in Suba South, the CS urged Nyanza residents to reject other presidential candidates.

Ruto’s outburst indicates his changing tone. Last month, he struck the tone of a “listening” President during the State of the Nation address. “We have learnt, through the hard as well as more customary ways, that listening is a full-time occupation of leadership, and that all questions asked by the people must be answered thoroughly and in full....”

He went to cancel the Adani deals, the decision that ignited his anger in Taita Taveta. “Those who celebrate the stoppage of JKIA construction by Adani, what will you gain from it? Most of those opposing the construction of a new airport have never been steeped in an airport,” he said. 

But Kenyans have continued to pile pressure. Social media user John Njenga Karuga wrote: “Hassan Joho must retreat with immediate effect. When it comes to Kenya and our constitutional rights, we are scorched earth, we are tears of the sun, we are burning spears, we are ancestral spiritual swords, we stand guard for Kenya we are many, we are legion, expect us.”  

A section of leaders want the President and his Cabinet to embark on self-introspection.

Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba said: “Its unfortunate that the President sees his critics as demon-possessed people, its disrespect to the majority of Kenyans who voted for him. He needs to stop abductions and focus on working for the people.”