AJUOK: Why the transport strike exposed soft underbelly of Ruto’s administration

A friend observed this week that if the Covid pandemic period had happened during this Ruto regime, we may have lost a lot more lives, caused by disjointed government action and poor follow-up mechanism.

A lot of this possibly has to do with the different styles of President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Ruto.

While Ruto appears to micro-manage every ministry and issues unending roadside policy decrees, Uhuru appeared to let his CSs do their jobs.

Because of that, there is consensus that Uhuru’s Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe performed admirably in containing the spread of the virus, offering regular updates and leading an anxious nation through one of the worst crises of the century.

In the Ruto era, there is near certainty that whenever a CS appears before the press, a major gaffe is coming. And the nation was treated to such theatrics and embarrassments when CSs Davis Chirchir (Transport) and Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), flanked by transport sector stakeholders, graced a press conference on Monday night, after a long day of a national shutdown, following a paralysing strike by transport service operators.

At the presser, Wandayi seemed unsure of what had been agreed in the daylong negotiations, forcing the transport sector officials to interrupt the press conference to tell their version of the story, whereupon the two CSs stormed out, leaving the sector officials in the government boardroom at Transcom House.

It was an embarrassing scene to watch. And even before that, Chirchir was caught on live mic asking his Energy colleague if he would take questions, to which Wandayi flatly declined.

The public transport operators had issued their strike notice days earlier. In their own words, the government neither reached out to them nor made any efforts to remedy the situation ahead of the Monday strike.

Yet, the earliest official response, when the strike was already underway and biting, was from Treasury CS John Mbadi, who was reported to have said that the government would convene after the return of President Ruto from a state visit to Azerbaijan, to address the fuel crisis.

You would think that would be enough gaffes in one day, but you still have to contend with Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, who weighed in with his own presser.

After his official statement, on Monday night, the CS invited Kenyans to ask themselves why the transport sector strike had happened under President Ruto, but sector officials had been very understanding under President Kenyatta, often indulging the latter despite price increases during his rule.

For the uninitiated, this was Murkomen’s way of perpetuating a narrative that has become commonplace in government circles; that Kikuyu-dominated sectors of the economy are sabotaging Ruto’s economic agenda.

For a security sector chief, it is quite improper for him to be running the kind of tribal narratives that are only fit for village gossip, but this anti-Kikuyu agenda seems to be gaining traction within government circles as the 2027 election gets closer. It is also peddled, in no small measure, by the broad-based faction of ODM.

But something else Murkomen said was more disturbing. He indicated that by his assessment, 99 per cent of the country had operated normally on Monday and only a tiny one per cent had experienced minimal disruptions.

I don’t know how Ruto can keep in a CS who blatantly trivialises a national crisis to that level, because truth be told, the transport strike had affected nearly every corner of the nation, achieving a near-shutdown that other demos in the past hadn’t.

Be that as it may, it is important to point out that the Ruto regime, in many respects, is its own worst enemy. When faced with national challenges, the instinct of most government officials is to blatantly lie or trivialise the situation, if not responding with arrogance and contempt.

The situation is compounded by the fact that some of the CSs, especially those whose ministries now find themselves in the eye of the storm, like Wandayi and Mbadi, are too busy at public rallies engaging in succession politics.

Mbadi is especially becoming notorious for public anger tantrums at political rallies. In recent times, he has ended up in unnecessary exchanges with members of the Odinga family, at a time when his main focus should be the economic turbulence facing the country over the rising fuel prices and the impending Finance Bill 2026, which is expected to also generate a significant amount of drama in the coming weeks.

Essentially, therefore, Ruto is keeping people in Cabinet who not only lack focus, but in the words of East Africa Legislative MP Winnie Odinga, are unable to speak to citizens in a manner that shows respect and appreciation of the struggles of the masses.

To be dismissive of the concerns of citizens, or to paint them merely as tribal anger, is exactly how the regime will bury its head as it tags along a monster to the next general election.

I am especially concerned that senior CSs like Murkomen and Mbadi have willingly and enthusiastically become purveyors of tribal conspiracy theories. I took a quick glance at IG Kanja, standing right behind Murkomen at their Monday night presser, as the CS loudly sold to the media that theory that there was a reason the matatu industry had been silent during Uhuru’s reign.

I am not sure how regime officials expect civil servants from the Kikuyu community to feel when such damaging tribal narratives are spun into government policy statements in their own presence.

Indeed, the sort of statements issued by Murkomen must lead one to ask how much progress will be made in negotiations with the transport sector officials over the one-week grace period, if the CS has publicly suggested that the strike is part of an ethnic conspiracy by the Mount Kenya community to sabotage the reign of President Ruto.

Where are the clean hands with which regime officials will go into negotiations to resolve the crisis, if in their eyes, there is actually no crisis but mere attempts to bring down the government?

Fish rots from the head, and the President is largely to blame for the disjointed and chaotic communication within his government. His own modus operandi, spending long hours on sunroofs promising grand projects “in the next three to six months”, has given rise to huge expectations in the population, without the requisite resources to back all these roadside decrees. You have to pity his CSs and PSs, who have to work backwards to try to bridge the gap between reality and empty politics in the President’s words.

CS Mbadi himself attested to the fact that there are very limited options in raising revenue, if some of the cost items in the prices of petroleum products were knocked out to reduce prices.

This may be understandable, but it does not align with Ruto’s unhinged promise-festivals, where billions in revenue-sapping projects are promised wherever he goes. Perhaps this is the point where Cabinet members themselves must look the head of state in the eye and tell him that they are at pains to put a realistic face to the Singapore journey he is promoting out in public.

Regardless of where the blame lies, the whole government is suffering a communication gap that makes nonsense of its image as a luxurious spender. It doesn’t require any particular genius to figure out what should be done.

Just extend some grace to a heavily taxed population, speak to it with empathy and no matter how painful, tell it the truth. Citizens do not fancy watching TV to see leaders lying openly and fumbling with state matters.

At the very least, send people on TV who can speak to the citizens in a language that restores hope. The chaotic communication within the Ruto regime is too unfortunate.