Shedding crocodile tears refers to a situation where one pretends to sympathise or cry over someone without really and truly caring about that person.
Ruto seems to have expected the state to fall apart when he abandoned his office work without permission, four years ago, to start illegal campaigns around the country using state apparatus.
Upon Ruto’s refusal to stay in office for the past four years, Uhuru has made most notable successes and accomplishments, very different from expectations that he would fail.
Yet Ruto weeps crocodile tears and at times he and his team are busy in defiance of the President. This is highly notable when they pour scorn on his authority and also abuse him, his family, community, and the nation at large. The presidency and the position held by him as elected by the people of Kenya to represent the country should not be thrown into the mud by those who lack respect for authority.
Ruto's style of campaign may not auger well for peace. When he visited the US, he insinuated that the President is a refugee in ODM plus other untenable remarks not expected to come out of a statesman.
The Standard newspaper brought into focus what Deputy President William Ruto said a day after he became the United Democratic Alliance’s flagbearer.
Brian Otieno has described what he spoke at his first stop at the fig tree bus terminus around Ngara in Nairobi. Ruto’s speech claimed and charged that “… that is why the handshake brothers… children of privilege can’t understand the problems the common people, hustler, face.”
Paradoxically, what Ruto’s speech creates dogmatically, is the differentiation and dichotomy between the children of the rich and the poor. Instead of drawing a wedge between the rich and the poor, he couldn’t emphasise the corporate social responsibility the rich could extend to the poor to uphold the philanthropic and positive view of shared prosperity/wealth. In this way, the rich and the poor can live harmoniously.
An irony of Ruto’s accusations and polemics he made can open a can or cans of worms, like the unexplained five choppers and 10 properties under state security worth more than Sh40 billion acquired over a brief period of time.
This may expose Ruto as one of the highly privileged and as one who has uncontrollable appetite for properties and things. Yet he makes a lot of noise about children of privilege. But I have not seen Ruto give our struggling universities even Sh30 billion to enable them to stabilise under CSR or give money to poor children who cannot complete studies because of shortage of school fees. What has Ruto, as one of the presidential aspirants, done in the crucible of CSR venture that can accord him a title as a philanthropist, of great standing, and as a child of great privileges?
There are other recent outbursts that Ruto has made recently worth paying attention to as part of shedding crocodile tears: First, he conveyed a word through social media to the President. He told people to tell the president not to use the very knife he used to support him to cut his legs by supporting Raila. Such odd manner of message conveyancing titrates the degree of estrangement between him and the President for that matter.
Second, Ruto’s allies Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula, who have failed to bracket themselves, are caught in a trap after decamping from One Kenya Alliance. They also shed crocodile tears, and pretend that they have deference for the President, albeit they oppose Uhuru’s support for Raila.
These people are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are not faithful and honest because when they say they respect Uhuru but do not respect Raila, then this is real pretence and a contradiction in terms. There are previous instances, before the earthquake meeting, when they appeared to blackmail the President that he was forcing them to embrace what they did not like. Yet there was no such force but friendly overtures.
How can one claim they have deference for someone but they are at variance with whatever he/she says? For that matter, all of these UDA personalities ought to stop the continual shedding of crocodile tears and embark on their actual philosophy and ideology or manifesto on why they want to lead this country.
Over the past four years, there are issues that have embodied Ruto’s true character trait. First, he displayed an act of selfishness when he did not feel OK with Raila’s handshake peace move with Uhuru. So, in a psychological narcissistic obsession with his egoistic tendency, he decided to abandon Jubilee to form his own party, UDA, albeit no one pushed him out.
Second, he decided to take to avoidance or escape behaviour by self-isolating himself from the President and his office to begin early campaigns. This added more problems like abandonment of office work. This was not a proactive strategy as he failed to seek permission to take a leave for campaigns. This has now become an avoidant personality disorder/ depression symptom as he continues to avoid office work up to today.
Although the DP has argued against resignation saying it would be an act of cowardice and that this could be viewed as a betrayal of those who voted for him, he has failed to weigh upon such a desertion and dereliction of DP duties from a deontological ethics perspective.
This kind of ethics is a duty-based ethical/ moral criterion that debates upon the relationship between adherence to one's duty as a moral enterprise and morality of human actions/ compliances. In Kenya the DP as a role model is seen by young and old abandoning his office campaigning for over four years yet earns a salary from the wananchi taxes by feeling obligated to his voters. This may not be appropriate.
Third, after DP abandoned the presidency he is continually shedding crocodile tears. In actual fact it seems as if he pretends to be sad about Uhuru’s support of Raila, but at the same time he is not sad at all when he brags that he will win after all.
There are a number of dark clouds of doubts, uncertainty and gloom that seem to hang over my head that this does not command strong integrity and leadership qualities. Why do I say this?
First, Ruto’s leadership qualities appear problematic since he seems not a strong fighter against corruption. Dr Irungu Kang'ata has provided a narrative on Unity, Economic model and Honesty in which he says Ruto scores better than Raila. He further alludes to the fact that Raila’s best credentials are in fighting for democracy and says that though this is important, Kenya does not currently require a fighter.
What Kang'ata must know is that they are greenhorns and probationers in politics that are not comparable to Raila. Raila is still the potential liberator of Kenya on many fronts: socioeconomic, political, and constitutional reconceptualisation, promotion of true democracy, good governance and fighting graft.
Seemingly, corruption under Ruto may grow because some aspiring leaders within UDA have been implicated in graft matters. Instead of being reprimanded by Ruto he defends them that they are being followed due to their political inclination. This reasoning makes it difficult to control corruption.
Second, other dimensions that seem to undermine Ruto’s political career are but not limited to; the stadiums Mr Fix could not fix within six months as promised, attempted land grabbing accusations, unexplained wealth/ properties, promised laptops for Std 1 pupils not accomplished to date, misuse of public funds and resources in personal campaigns, abusing the president, his family and the government he claims to serve and blatant dereliction of duty against article 147(1) (2).
Third, Ruto’s name looms large, recently at the ICC trial, especially this year. According to the standard, it is reported that a witness testified that he was promised Ksh10 million in order to withdraw from a case against DP Ruto. This taints the image of presidential aspirant that should be above reproach according to Kenyan constitution chapter 6.
Fourth, when Ruto took his share of 50-50 coalition jobs he distributed the jobs – cabinet, diplomats, state corporations, principal secretaries and all key positions to his ethnic community, mostly. Beware, Ruto is likely to give all jobs to his kin without concern for equity, egalitarianism and national balance.
Jubilee vice chairman decries the fact that Ruto shared all his plum positions with his ethnic group only and left President Kenyatta with his half of the government posts to share with the entire Kenya. This may be unfortunate if not corrected.
All in all, in summation of everything, electorates are the ones with wisdom and insight to evaluate the antecedents, transactions and outcomes of the most accomplished, experienced, stable and credible leader to take Kenya to the next level.
Ruto has served for two terms and can be evaluated based on his antecedents, transactions and outcomes as enumerated here. If he has done well, he ought not to fear and shed crocodile tears as he does at times. He should propagate his requisite philosophies and ideologies needed to demonstrate his statesmanship.
He has been on the fringes of his original party, which he decamped from, and can’t see eye to eye with the President. This may be evidence of poor interpersonal relationships and acts of insubordination. Are these signs and evidence of success by a leader? The answer is; it is the people to decide as mediators.
University lecturer
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