There's nothing like unstoppable in politics

It would be wrong to say Deputy President William Ruto is unstoppable in his bid to become the next president.

It would also be misleading to suggest that ODM leader Raila Odinga, with the backing of President Uhuru Kenyatta, could keep Ruto from ascending to the top seat.

Politics is the art of possible. It is possible, impossible and unstoppable. If I can put it in a clear way, one day in politics is long enough for so many things to change.

What this, therefore, means is that notions such as unstoppable are irrelevant from my point of view.

There could be very many scenarios as we approach the general election, which is two years away.

One, the Deputy President may not even be on the ballot as has been suggested by Cotu boss Francis Atwoli.

Two, Raila may also not be a candidate if he so chooses. We have heard him say he will announce his 2022 political plans after the Building Bridges Initiative process is concluded.

He has insisted that for now, he and his handshake partner, President Uhuru Kenyatta, will remain silent about 2022 politics.

He keeps talking about building the necessary infrastructure that will avert future post-election chaos and not his candidature in 2022.

He is also on the record saying it is not a must that he becomes the next president.

There are many other politicians such as ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Wiper counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka who will come into the picture.

The 2022 election is many months away. It is therefore impossible to make a prediction today. Kenyans should just be open-minded about the 2022 succession politics. That is what I would say.

It is too premature to suggest that one particular candidate is unstoppable come the next election.

So many things are going to change along the way. There will be new alliances, new partnerships or even coalitions as we hit the homestretch.

The political scientist spoke to the Star