Ruto’s dilemma as anti-graft war pushes him into a tight corner
By VITALIS KIMUTAI
Deputy President William Ruto this week veered off his own
script, going hammer and tongs on Opposition chief Raila Odinga in what
promises to shape the political discourse going forward.
His
reference to Mr Odinga ‘as the lord of poverty’ and talk of
‘mandazinomics’ in Garissa on Friday rekindled memories of the hotly
contested presidential poll in August 2017 that left the country
divided.
The newfound approach, whether temporary,
presents him with a dilemma that observers reckon may make or break his
chances of succeeding President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.
Does
he go full throttle on Mr Odinga without appearing to criticise the
March 9 handshake between President Kenyatta and the Opposition leader?
“Some
people told us that if they lose an election they will go and make
mandazi. You lost the election, why are you not making mandazi instead
of bringing petty politics into serious programmes that we are focusing
on?” he wondered.
CORRUPTION
For a long period now, Dr Ruto had told his lieutenants that he
would not take on President Kenyatta in public, saying that doing so
would jeopardise his chances of inheriting his central Kenya bastion.
“DP’s
behaviour this week did not come as a surprise. This he has been
holding back but he eventually reached the boiling point. The officers
he is accusing of being used to fight him in the war on graft were duly
appointed to office, it leaves him in a precarious position,” Dr Tom
Mboya, a don at Maseno University, observed.
While he
may not have directly fired a salvo at the Head of State and his allies,
saying that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was being
used to settle political scores, he may be guilty of contradicting his
boss who at a funeral in Murang’a earlier in the week reiterated his
full confidence in the DCI boss George Kinoti and Director of Public
Prosecutions Noordin Haji in their ruthless crackdown on graft in high
places.
DPP HAJI
It
was a precursor to a series of statements issued hours later by Treasury
Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, his Water and Irrigation counterpart
Simon Chelugui and Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen on alleged
financial scam in construction of dams.
“For us to win
this war on corruption we need to hire an extra DPP and DCI, competent
ones who can prosecute their cases in court. The current drama queens
can be left to run the war on headlines and social media; there they do
really well. But that is just about it,” fired Kericho Senator Aaron
Cheruiyot, a Ruto ally, in a tweet.
A shrewd Dr Ruto is aware that he can get his message to the President by attacking Mr Odinga.
“My
personal position is that the DPP is knowingly or unknowingly
maliciously being used to fight Dr Ruto in part of a wider scheme to
scuttle his 2022 presidential bid,” Murkomen, who is the Elgeyo Marakwet
Senator, said.
BACKLASH
The
tough balancing act that faces Dr Ruto and his lieutenants is how far
to go in their criticism. Taking on the DPP and DCI in whom the
President said he has confidence in would in any way look antagonistic.
By
choosing to go for Mr Odinga, blaming him for the controversy that has
rocked the dam projects, Dr Ruto risks being seen as fighting the
handshake, his bosses’ panacea for ethnic divisions in the country.
“The
fight against corruption would not be won in the manner it is being
done now, not with the negative campaigns clearly being waged against
the Deputy President and his allies,” Mr Murkomen said.
Belgut
MP Nelson Koech says the DCI has engaged in a fishing expedition to
galvanise his cases, which have no legal basis and cannot hold in court.
“It
is unfortunate that the DCI and the DPP are prosecuting the alleged
cases through the mainstream media and the social media. It should not
be misconstrued that by keeping quiet for a long time as the scenario
unfolds amounts to being pushed to a corner or an act of submission.
Enough is enough! We will not take it lying down any more.”
SYCOPHANTS
It
is an all-out war and only time will tell how it ends. Some in the
government think that the DP is out to undermine the war Mr Kenyatta is
waging on corruption in government.
However, nominated
ODM MP Wilson Sossion differed with his colleagues, saying a few
politically correct individuals are destroying Kenya’s economy through
looting public coffers as a result of entrenched corruption in the civil
service.
“Sadly, the people glorified by the voters in
this country and the society as a whole are those who thrive in
corruption. They loot public coffers and dish out handouts to voters,”
Mr Sossion said.
Senior government officials including
Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and regional commissioners
have lately kept off Dr Ruto’s functions with only a few MPs
accompanying him.
Before the handshake and the
elevation of Interior boss Fred Matiang’i to chair Cabinet Committee on
Service Delivery, politicians and government officers were falling on
each other trying to catch the attention of Dr Ruto.
ALLIES
It
is a system that was perfected in the Moi era where a vice president or
minister’s clout was gauged on the basis of how he was handled by
members of the provincial administration.
The absence
of provincial or district commissioners in a VP’s or minister’s function
would send clear signals that one was a marked man politically.
In
Mount Kenya region, MPs who support Dr Ruto’s 2022 presidential bid
have started keeping off his functions as witnessed last weekend when he
attended a medical camp in memory of the late Nyeri Governor Nderitu
Gachagua at Railway grounds in Karatina.
Only area MP
Rigathi Gachagua, Governor Mutahi Kahiga, his deputy Carol Karugu and
Woman Representative Rahab Mukami were present, but other MPs kept off.
Local
MPs including Anthony Kiai (Mukurweini), Gichuki Mugambi (Othaya) and
Mwangi Gichuhi (Tetu) said they were engaged in other “private family
matters”.
ISOLATED
Nyeri
Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, who is the face of Dr Ruto revolt, said he
has always avoided sharing platforms with him because of the 2022
debate, and that more MPs from the region ae leaving the DP’s camp.
“The
DP is getting isolated because of the corruption issues facing him,
ranging from illegal acquisition of land and claims he is a beneficiary
of looted public funds,” Mr Ngunjiri said.
An MP who
did not want to be named said the working relationship between President
Kenyatta and Mr Odinga has made some MPs tread cautiously in their
relations with the DP while others adopted “a wait-and-see strategy”.
Additional Reporting Joseph Wangui
.jpg)
.jpg)
Post a Comment