Ruto takes no prisoners as he faces opposition, oversight bodies

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. [DPCS]

"For a long time, our friends in the media used to criticise us and no one would question them, but now things have changed," Gachagua said at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology in Kiambu yesterday.

"... somebody needs to hold the media to account for the things they write. Welcome to the world of Moses Kiarie Kuria (the Trade cabinet secretary)," he said in support of derogatory attacks by Kuria against sections of the media for publishing corruption scandals that have dogged Ruto's administration, still in its infancy.

"You have seen nothing (yet). We want to ask leaders to join Moses Kuria to hold the press to account," he added, hinting at a continuation of attacks against the media, promising a "new Kenya".

His remarks came days after Ruto endorsed Kuria's utterances, in which the Trade CS hurled expletives at the Nation Media Group, as an exercise of his freedoms.

"I saw one journalist saying the President should defend us from Moses Kuria, that's fine; I will do my bit, but I want to ask them who is going to defend me from rogue media because I go through hell all the time," said the President.

Also on the president's warpath is the opposition. On several occasions, Ruto has stated need for robust opposition to enhance accountability. On the flip side, his government has frustrated the opposition from demonstrating against the government, a right enshrined in the Constitution.

The head of state has sought to dictate how the opposition is to conduct its oversight, arbitrarily outlawing demonstrations, powers he lacks. All anti-government protests have been banned by police, unlawfully and despite sufficient notice, with peaceful opposition demonstrators facing the wrath of the police.

And as he champions a strong opposition, Ruto has spared no chance to raid opposition benches, initiating waves of defections from the opposition. The ongoing wrangles in the Jubilee Party have been faulted as a state-sponsored assault on the opposition. Nominated MP Sabina Chege, who now claims to be Jubilee Party leader is on the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition although she is the deputy minority whip supposed to mobilise the opposition in Parliament.

Riled by these squabbles in Jubilee which the opposition has blamed on Ruto, Opposition chief Raila Odinga recently pulled out of bipartisan talks, accusing Ruto of working against multipartyism and killing democracy.

But speaking to France 24, Ruto said he has no problem with Raila.

"I have no problem with Raila Odinga. I have no problem with him organising protests. You have protests here in Paris... I have just asked Raila and company not to engage in violence and the destruction of property. That is all. We are a democracy," he said.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka chided the president for his remarks about being in favour of a robust opposition observing, "President Ruto said he wanted a strong opposition but he is complaining when we do our job."

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka. [Dennis Kavisu, Standard]

The opposition's haemorrhage has rendered it powerless against the government's numbers in Parliament, the body constitutionally charged with providing oversight to the Executive that is now at the President's beck and call. That was apparent during voting for the controversial Finance Bill in Parliament, where provisions almost unanimously opposed during the public participation exercise, such as the housing tax, were bulldozed through.

Besides disregard of court are frequent attacks government officials have launched against them. Gachagua yesterday criticised orders issued to prevent Kuria from persecuting the media.

"The same way the courts have been persuaded from holding the press to account, I want the same courts, when leaders go to court to restrain the same media from criticising leaders, the courts must give the same orders," he said.

When the High Court quashed the new National Social Security Fund in October last year, Ruto faulted the judiciary for coming in the government's way of delivering for Kenyans.

More recently, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki alluded to the fact that the government would keep controversial preacher Paul Makenzi in custody "for the rest of his life", even if the courts were to free him.

"There is always going to be that push and pull between those who hold power and oversight institutions because governments don't like being questioned," said constitutional lawyer Bobby Mkangi, adding that an attempt to emasculate or trash efforts at oversight violates the Constitution.

"But the government should not get angry when it is questioned because all those institutions are there to question it. The government should respond to criticism factually and with transparency. The government is bound to the principle of separation of powers and the available checks and balance systems," Mkangi added.

In supporting government's criticism of the media, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, like Ruto and Gachagua, said that sections of the media had gone rogue.

"Some quarters are still in denial that against all odds, William Ruto won the presidency... they might have had their candidate but Ruto won. In future, the media should come out openly and be on record that they support a particular candidate as we see in the United States," Cherargei said, adding that the government was not attacking the press but merely offering constructive criticism.

"As much as media freedoms are guaranteed in the Constitution, it reaches a point that the media must be called out when they go rogue. They should be criticising the government and not inciting the public against it. What we want is a media that is free of bias and they should take the criticism in stride," he added.

Celebrated novelist Ngugi aa Thiongo is concerned at what is happening in the country and wrote in a story published by The Standard yesterday: "Have we built institutions that can safeguard citizens so that no one shall ever go into exile for expressing their thoughts? And is our country safe for those who espouse different pathway for a more just and equitable society?"

Ngugi expressed his concerns that threats to free press, runaway corruption and parliamentary acquiescence of the executive are a recipe for nightmares that roiled Kenya in the past adding that Kenyans should not despair, but renew their collective resolve to secure their hard earned freedom.