Town hall meetings good, but does Ruto trust his ministers?

President Ruto during the Town Hall meeting at Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi on August 25, 2024. [File, Standard]

We read in The Bible of a man who was called Jethro. They say of him, in the book of Exodus, Chapter 18, that he was the father-in-law to the oracle called Moses, the man of God who led biblical Israelites from bondage, in biblical Egypt. 

Now, it has been written of these two men, “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people. And they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning till evening  . . . ? What you are doing is not good. 

“You, and these people who come to you, will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone  . . . But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.  Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.”

And the narrative goes on, “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.  He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”

Now, this is how it is done. When you are a leader, you choose men and women of goodwill to help you with some of the chores. Capable persons, who fear God, who hate dishonest gain, that is to say they hate theft – or what Kenyans deodorize as “corruption.” You give them assignments and let them work for you. You do not grab back the assignments. You don’t even buy them back. For, you trust your own sense of judgement that, in the first place, made you settle for these men and women. If you grab back this delegated authority, something is awfully wrong, not with the persons you selected, but with your own sense of judgement. For, why did you select people in whom you have no confidence? 

Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible is emphatic on the kind of person who exercises delegated authority, as captured in the story of Moses and Jethro. “Great care should be taken in the choice of the kind of persons who should be admitted into this trust. They must be able men – men of the very best character … of good sense, that understood business, and bold men that would not be daunted by frowns and clamours. Men with clear heads and stout hearts . . .”

Ahead of his next town hall meeting, President William Ruto may want to ask himself whether he has selected men and women with such attributes to work for him. Without a doubt, it is his watch. If the current Executive succeeds, he will take the credit, regardless of who worked for him. If it flounders, he will take the flak. Is it, perhaps, because of this that, every so often, the Kenyan president has clawed back on his delegation, to play the solitary man in the arena? Meanwhile, his appointees and assignees sit in the circles, to just watch and listen, like filmgoers. 

In a sense, it is good that Kenyans have a hands-on president, who seems to understand every sector thoroughly. He has the courage to field questions in town hall meetings. Yet, something is amiss when the head of State becomes the President, the Cabinet Secretary, the Principal Secretary, the Administrative Secretary, the Director of Education, the Chief Inspector of Schools, and the master-of-ceremonies; all rolled into one. From astute leadership perspectives, the manager of last resort needs to be very calibrated and circumspect in whatever communications. If they goof, as sometimes we all will do, it is very difficult to regain credibility. 

President Ruto’s town hall meetings tend to come through as knee jerk reactions to public outrage, in contexts that suggest the boss does not trust the people he has appointed. He thinks that they can’t say it as it should be said. Yet, he comes through as histrionic, and trying too hard. If his people tell him, “Boss that was excellent,” they lie to him. But, why doesn’t he just let his people work? Why?

Dr Barrack Muluka is a strategic communications advisor

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