President William Ruto is now targeting Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s business empires in a bid to tame him from his aggressive attacks on his administration.
With Ruto having ruled out any possibility of a handshake reminiscent of the 2018 truce between the opposition leader and retired president Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto has vowed to tighten the screws on him in an eye for an eye battle.
“All that these people want is nusu mkate (share of government). But I want to tell them openly to forget anything to do with the handshake,” Ruto said during an event in Gatundu.
He added:
"You played the same tricks with Moi and managed to get something. You staged protests and got a share of Mwai Kibaki's government. You threatened Uhuru Kenyatta and got a handshake in return. If you think you can blackmail me into a handshake you are dreaming."
It is understood Ruto has resorted to this scheme to silence the ODM leader and his backers while avoiding a scenario where he is cornered to engage in talks.
The requirement that all individuals pay taxes including those who had been granted exemption is another strategy being used by Ruto.
East Africa Spectre Company is among the business enterprises owned by Raila and enjoys a monopoly in the country.
It is the only private company in the country that supplies gas cylinders to oil companies.
The LPG cylinder manufacturing and revalidation company website shows that it controls about 20 percent market share in new LPG cylinder manufacture and over 80 percent of the revalidation market share.
In 2021, Raila went on record to narrate how he sold his old German car to raise 12,000 to start the company.
Speaking on Sunday, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said the government was focused on bringing down the cost of living and would stop at nothing to ensure that there was no monopoly in the production of gas and cylinders.
Competition in production, the DP said, would kill monopolies including in the milk sector and the government’s intention is to ensure that the prices come down through healthy competition.
He took issue with reports in the media indicating that ongoing efforts to lower the cost of living were informed by their political differences with certain individuals saying the Kenya Kwanza’s focus is to raise the standards of the people.
“We need more competition so that gas prices can come down. That's what will happen, you can make a lot of noise but it will come down. It's the same thing with milk. We are opening that sector for more competition,” the DP stated.
Ruto has already commissioned a multi-billion gas plant in Mombasa; a project he said would attract competition in the sector as well as help bring down the cost of the commodity.
Taifa gas which has already been awarded a license to operate is owned by Tanzanian billionaire businessman Rostam Aziz.
The licensing by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) comes after reports emerged previous attempts by the company failed.
The move is now likely to deal a huge blow to the opposition who has curved his niche to be an established entrepreneur apart from politics.
Retired president Uhuru Kenyatta who is a close associate of Raila is also on the radar and there have been no signs of Ruto keen to spare him.
Brookside Dairies, the leading milk processor in the country is owned by the Kenyatta family and controls 40 percent of the market share.
Political analyst Javas Bigambo opines that while Raila is taking on the Ruto administration as part of his tactics to remain relevant in the political space, it will reach a time when the “camel’s back will break”.
Bigambo says, however, as hard Raila pushes, Ruto would not cede ground but instead also become tough him.
“Age, health and frustrations will make him lose the battle. He is not going to sustain this fight for five years because the government will frustrate him,” he notes.
He notes that President Ruto is keen on opening up the economy to ensure that there are many actors for competition and avoid the exploitation of Kenyans.