• The Ruto bunker is actively under assault and the occupants could find themselves totally exposed.
• Occupants have the choice to either abandon the DP or bunker in some more gambling the rewards await if they sustain the attack and he is sworn in as our next president.
Image: FILE
To understand why Deputy President William Ruto is in a panic, a peek at a bit of recent history is apt.
History is fascinating and apt because it allows us to recognise our mistakes and learn from them, and ultimately create a better experience for all.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga stood in front of Harambee House and shook hands on March 9, 2018, history was made: A hatchet was buried, past ills acknowledged with lessons learned and the two men provided a roadmap to create a better experience for all Kenyans in what we know refer to as the BBI.
The biggest ill that was buried — but not to be forgotten — was also the darkest moment of our country’s history to be revisited only in the annals of history, and that is the 2007-08 post-election violence and ICC cases, and its two minor cousins — electoral theft in 2013 and 2017.
Raila set off things in this direction by declaring the handshake was “the beginning of building the bridge that binds Kenyans together.” For his part, Uhuru declared that starting that day, “we’ll begin a process of bringing our people together…we’ll begin a process of discussing what ails us and what creates division amongst us.”
One person markedly absent during the handshake occurred was Deputy President William Ruto. To be sure, the now-famous handshake was a total surprise to everyone except a handful or so and every indication is Ruto was not among them.
Indeed, soon after Uhuru and Raila shook hands and beamed smiles to an audience, media and public in disbelief, the relationship between the President and Ruto became frosty and has shown no sign of thawing. Seems it is getting worse.
That’s not what has caused panic in Ruto's camp. It is the bunker the DP had carefully built over time to house his 2022 arsenal, which is slowly starting to show signs of vulnerabilities with no fix on sight.
In the bunker are many tools Ruto is strategically unleashing such as the active campaign to defang Uhuru — or so he thinks — in Mt Kenya region though as of this writing, he has quite surprisingly succeeded.
One of the most formidable weapons any shrewd politician with the means to exploit has at his or her disposal no matter where or what circumstances, is fear.
Ruto, clearly a student of Moi era politics, figured soon after becoming Deputy President that, leave aside hatred or dislike of Raila in Mt Kenya region, fear of the unknown or worse, in not having a Kikuyu-Kalenjin alliance in power will drive nearly all Kikuyus to a man to vote for him. This is a man they wrongly consider to be the lesser of two evils in as far as the Kikuyu community interests in Rift Valley go.
Truth is, those fears are unfounded and, if one were to unbury the hatchet and make a proper analysis, Ruto would be the man to fear in office as president for Kikuyus in the Rift Valley—or elsewhere for that matter, not Raila.
But the hatchet was buried so let sleeping dogs lie.
The Ruto bunker is actively under assault and the occupants could find themselves totally exposed and have the choice to either abandon the DP or bunker in some more gambling the rewards await if they sustain the attack and he is sworn in as our next president.
Or be destroyed completely politically, if he is not.
Meanwhile, Ruto, having seen the writing on the wall about his own political demise, has suddenly said Tangatanga will now join Raila in BBI rallies or hold their own.
That means a lot of buses will be hired to haul penny paid “supporters” to areas Ruto cannot have but a handful of people show up, even for curiosity. Good for transportation business, good for the penny recipients.
Samuel Omwenga is a legal analyst and political commentator