For over five years now, the President has encountered an unprecedented and spirited campaign of propaganda that targeted his character and political aspirations.
Of course, the President is thick skinned, his humble beginnings having chiselled him to a strong man. There is no doubt about that. He is the most resilient politician I have ever known and worked with. It is worth noting that he has been a victim of hate campaigns before, dating back to the period when he first joined elective politics in 1997.
I must say that we politicians are easy punching bags of critics and the public. So Ruto facing criticisms as a leader is not an exception but the norm. We are a democratic country. Freedom of expression is sanctified in Article 33 of our Constitution and Kenyans are very good at testing that provision at the slightest provocation.
Having said that, however, you will agree with me that from early 2018, while he was still the deputy president, a new wave of smear campaigns and biased criticisms sprouted.
Key actors in this scheme had their mission well planned and operation block Ruto’s presidential bid became intense. He was served a daily dose of humiliation during state and public functions and insubordination by junior government officials and state officers became the order of the day.
The then government, in connivance with the opposition, conscripted a litany of trigger-happy online mercenaries whose terms of reference were well cut out: To assassinate the character of Ruto the deputy president who was the leading candidate for president in the 2022 general election. Anti-Ruto analysts and pundits alike also joined the fray.
Yet in the end, their mission failed. They were left with egg on their faces as Ruto cruised menacingly to State House with the prodigious support of a majority of Kenyans who listened to and embraced his revolutionary Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Many thought that with the new dawn of the Kenya Kwanza administration, and the concerted efforts by the President to right the wrongs of the preceding regime, the hired guns would hold their horses.
They did not. The witch hunt continued into the formative days of the new administration and proceeded unabated, to date. The barrage of attacks has been sustained, with the President being accused of failing to deliver on his promises.
It doesn’t matter that the government is still in its embryonic stages. The critics are on a charm offensive and neither facts nor truth matter at the moment. So how far are they willing to go?
While on an official state visit to Kenya in 2015, former US President Barack Obama delivered an exhilarating speech that captured the imagination of the entire continent of Africa and the world.
The speech is billed as one of his best in the collection of his speeches. The former president, who has ties with Kenya, navigated through a myriad of issues pertinent to development, democracy and good governance. He talked at length on the topic of corruption and how the vice is a hindrance to the growth of the continent.
Obama also called out elements who have a penchant for wishing their government failure, either because the individual in power was not their favourite candidate during elections or because of ideological differences.
“Hoping your President fails is the same as hoping your country fails, and it is not patriotism. Patriotism is supporting your Commander-in-Chief, even if you don’t agree with him on everything. It is what will make Kenya great, not complaining every time this nation tries to make progress,” he said.
Obama’s message is relevant, today, to the government critics, just like it was then.
It is indeed true that our economy is not in good shape and the cost of living is relatively high. Let us remember that this is the gift the previous regime handed over to the Kenya Kwanza government. Critics have so far refused to acknowledge this stubborn fact because it is inconvenient. Yet this is not the only fact they sweep under the carpet.
When Kenya Kwanza came to power, President Ruto made a deliberate effort to introduce measures that will jumpstart our economy and reduce the cost of living. Some of these interventions were long term and others short term. The measures are geared towards positioning Kenya as the Singapore of Africa.
This dream is not farfetched as some may think. It is not rocket science. It is doable and achievable with a committed leadership and political goodwill that is not lacking in the Kenya Kwanza government. I have seen pessimists doubting the possibility of Kenya becoming the Singapore of Africa.
They have a right to cast doubt on this ambitious goal but I can tell them that it will not be long before their misgivings are dashed. With the President’s BETA agenda on housing, agriculture, education, employment, manufacturing, etc, taking shape, we are on the right trajectory to an exponential economic growth—the hypocritical criticisms notwithstanding.
MDG party leader and Ugenya MP
