William Ruto: Political schemer who wins allies, subdues enemies skillfully

When President William Ruto commissioned Ol Kalou Water and sanitation Project at Ol Kalou town in Nyandarua County on January 11, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

A series of masterstrokes executed by President William Ruto which have redefined the political landscape have marked him as an ace schemer who is the grand master of the game that is politics.  

He has claimed scalps of foes even when he appeared to be an underdog and appears to have the capacity to script a complex plot where only he has a clear picture of its end while leaving the various players supposed in the play to work out a formula to achieve the desired results. 

The unfolding saga between the President and his impeached deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, clearly demonstrates Ruto’s attention to detail when he sets out to vanquish a foe without lifting a finger or raising his voice.

His experience in politics for 32 years having served as Kanu operative before being elected Eldoret North MP in 1997 after beating a firebrand politician Ruben Chesire has given him the ability to make political friends and maintain them in the hour of need.

He is also not a man to cross because he keeps grudges and knows when to hit back.

Ruto also learnt from Kenya’s acclaimed professor of politics, Daniel Moi, who he was a youth winger of the party (Kanu) that ruled Kenya for its first four decades and worked with the country’s longest-serving Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Ultimately he polished his game as an understudy of Kenya’s fourth, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who he bested in a contest between the student and the master. And now in the political chessboard, he appears to have no equal. He is also a man who walks away from political brawls.

To his credit, although he had bloodied many a nose, he is yet to taste defeat since his first stab in elective politics as most of his political gambles have paid off.  Ruto broke the jinx of the vice presidents.

He deputised Uhuru for ten years and upset tables against his boss in 2022 when he vied for the presidency for the first time and won even after going against the grain when he severed ties with Uhuru. 

President William Ruto and Raila Odinga at State House, Nairobi, where he was officially unveiled as Kenya’s candidate for the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. [PCS]

By that time, Ruto had become a darling of the people by projecting himself as an ordinary person and a chicken seller a strategy he used to identify with the peasants. Although he was a Deputy President he made his competitor, Raila Odinga, shoulder all the baggage and failures of his government.

And Kenyan voters believed him; that the Opposition leader was the cause of the problems bedevilling the country because he came from a political dynasty that had controlled Kenya’s politics since 1963.

During the elections, he presented himself as a victim of weaponisation of State agencies and since he convinced Christians that he is a prayerful worrier, he obliterated his rivals.

It was during the electioneering period that he vowed when he nearly cried that he would never allow his deputy to go through what he went through in the hands of the ‘mongrel’ type of government that was brought about by the March 2018 handshake between Uhuru and Raila.

His speech could move the crowds that pitied him while others fasted to have a son of a peasant triumph to the presidency to shame his enemies, and his oratory skills worked magic.

He spoke endlessly and chose his words in a way convenient to the audience that he was addressing and he achieved this by mastering greetings in different languages and discussing tailor-made issues to the specific regions.

 When he attained the presidency, he followed his predecessor’s route and incorporated Raila, the man he had demonised, into government.

Ironically, Ruto had used Raila’s friendship and handshake with Uhuru as his campaign mantra.

President William Ruto and former Deputy Rigathi Gachagua after a press conference at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

After his fallout with Uhuru, he crisscrossed the country with his Tanga Tanga allies who scolded Uhuru and called him out for what they described as subjecting his deputy (Ruto) to untold suffering but after his fallout with Gachagua, he used MPs and the senators to send Gachagua packing with ease and without much hullabaloos from the political class.

His political ability in mobilisation of MPs has made him able to deal with his political rivals who included Raila, Uhuru, and now Gachagua.

Political strategist Prof Gitile Naituli describes Ruto as an excellent planner who immerses himself to the events of the day so as to control the outcome.

“He was at the centre of the 2013 elections and that is how Uhuru ascended to the presidency.

‘‘Unlike people who don’t have a clue on how they get power, Ruto understands every bit of the election stage, especially the transmission of votes.”

But Naituli says despite his past victories, Ruto may not have his way this time round because of the emotions evoked after Gachagua’s impeachment.

“The law of unintended consequences may work against Ruto this time round because the central Kenya region is an emotional lot and they may not forgive him for ousting their son in as much as they don’t like Gachagua if courts support his impeachment, he may rally the region against another presidential candidate and this may see Ruto fail to get votes from the region,” he says.

On his part, Dr Kamau Wairuri, a political scientist and a policy researcher, observes that Ruto has a Machiavellian approach to politics which reveals a lot about his character and how he deals with people around him and those he’s competing with for power. 

“As we’ve seen he will do anything necessary to acquire and retain power. The recent impeachment of his deputy is the latest illustration of this but we can look back into history to see how he dealt not just with Raila and Uhuru but also his encounters with Reuben Chesire whom he defeated to win his first parliamentary election,” says Wairuri. 

 He says those who survive around him are people who are willing to offer utmost loyalty while anyone who falls short is excluded immediately.