The good, bad and the ugly side of DP William Ruto’s overseas tour

Deputy President William Ruto speaks on the challenges facing the upcoming General Election in Kenya at Chatham House, London, UK on March 7, 2022. [DPPS, Standard]

For Deputy President William Ruto, his 10-day trip to the US and the UK has been a resounding success.

According to his team, he has networked successfully, met influential persons on international matters, and made friends who could potentially aid his campaign.

Besides foreign friends, the DP found pleasure meeting hustlers living abroad. However, he was criticised for not taking with him a team that fits the hustler description – mama mbogas and boda bodas.

The DP said his hustler nation extends abroad and comprises those who work several jobs for long hours.

Dr Ruto had the chance to open up about his frustrations to friends abroad, much to the chagrin of his critics. But his success has come at a cost.

At home, his tour dented the Kenya Kwanza campaigns which suffered deficiencies in organisation as illustrated by the chaotic funeral of former Mt Elgon MP John Serut.

His differences with President Uhuru Kenyatta also played out on the international stage.

While abroad, Dr Ruto openly shared his views on the forthcoming August 9 election. He alleged that the State plans to influence the presidential election through intimidation.

Through his remarks, Dr Ruto may have hurt his credibility.

His blanket accusations of the State also finger him, seeing as he is the second in command. Furthermore, his trip was funded by the State he criticised.

The trip itself was a lesson in contradiction. For instance, the Ruto from 2013 would have lashed out at anyone taking a similar trip.

Back then, when ODM leader Raila Odinga took the trip, Dr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta criticised him for allegedly reaching out to international partners.

At the Chatham forum, Dr Ruto sustained his push to extricate himself from failures of the Jubilee administration, saying he had no role in forming the Cabinet as all members were appointed by the President.

The constitution empowers only the President to appoint CSs. “The President shall nominate and, with the approval of the National Assembly, appoint Cabinet Secretaries,” the constitution says.

But the appointment of CSs is hardly just a legal process, considering the dynamics of the Uhuru-Ruto 2013 partnership.

The two came together as a result of a coalition of Mr Kenyatta’s The National Alliance and Dr Ruto’s United Republican Party.

In the early days of their presidency, the two seemed to run a co-presidency so much so that they announced the nomination of CSs jointly. On April 24, 2013, Dr Ruto spoke after he and Mr Kenyatta unveiled the first batch of Cabinet nominees. The President equally acknowledged that the process had involved both of them.

But speaking at Chatham House, Dr Ruto said Mr Kenyatta had not involved him in appointing his Cabinet, contrary to claims by the President that he had split the positions “almost straight down the middle”.

“The responsibility of our government has never been shared between Mr Kenyatta and me,” Dr Ruto said. In the same breath, the DP claimed to have been “part and parcel of the entire delivery plan” of some of the government’s projects.

But political analyst and university don Herman Manyora says: “It is not possible for Dr Ruto to embrace the successes of government and disown its failures.”

Governance analyst Tom Mboya adds: “That is a classic exercise of politricks. None of it is surprising. It is a politician being a politician by distancing themselves from things that could cost them votes.”

Speaking in London, Dr Ruto cited the weaponisation of corruption and that the State was shielding beneficiaries of corruption.

“If you have challenges of having stolen from the public, you only need to be a friend (of the government); you only need to profess that you support the handshake, and the Building Bridges Initiative and you will have no consequences,” the DP said on Monday.

His castigation of the government in which he sits complicates the definition of his position.

Prof Manyora went on: “A person who opposes the government is the opposition. By conduct, Dr Ruto is the opposition within the government.”