Politics is, as a former high school teacher of mine phrased it, “the art of getting what you want.” This applies both to the individual and to the masses.
In Kenya politics, we attempt to elect a person who we
believe will help us get what we want, and then we attempt to influence that
person to deliver.
For instance, in the last year’s presidential election,
Kenyans woke up early morning to elect the candidate whom they believed would
transform their lives.
Kenya’s election was a two-horse race between William Ruto
who was then Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate and veteran
opposition politician Raila Odinga who was then the Azimio One Kenya Alliance
presidential flagbearer.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Ruto carried the day in normal
vote tally and even after the Supreme Court verdict.
However, with less than a year in office, Ruto is almost
losing legitimacy thanks to the opposition demos organized by Raila Odinga and
Azimio principals.
The man from Sugoi, who rose to power through hustler
gospel, is now like a lone coyote roaming in the Atacama Desert.
Raila, whom political analysts predicted had run out of gas,
has now risen from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix and he is now giving
Ruto a run of his lies and money through weekly antigovernment protests that
have received massive support across the Jamhuri Republic.
If Jakom, as he is
known in social circles keeps the current momentum, in the next six months,
then Kenya’s economy will crumble and the Kenya Kwanza Alliance may be read in
history books like the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Great Wall of Babylon or
Tutankhamun tomb.
But when did the rain
start beating Ruto?
Immediately after taking office, Ruto who was over the moon
like a small toddler, forgot to recognize the generals and lieutenants who
worked under the shadow to ensure he is the fifth President of Kenya.
The first costly mistake that Ruto did is to embrace the
church and ignore members of the Fifth Estate who with or without a brown
envelope preached the hustler gospel across the globe.
It was clear that the entire Fourth Estate had been
compromised by the Jubilee Party regime under the leadership of former
President Uhuru Kenyatta and were campaigning for Raila Odinga but bloggers and
some social media influencers filled the vacuum and campaigning for Ruto
tirelessly.
Like what amplifiers do to a piece of music, bloggers, some
with over 2 million views daily, were amplifying Ruto’s hustler’s gospel and
this made the ‘son of nobody’ become the fifth President of the Republic of
Kenya.
However, like a warthog, Ruto forgot bloggers, social media
influencers and even individuals who were using their social media handles to
campaign for him since they believed in his idea.
He welcomed political rejects, pastors (who many were
sitting at the fence during the battle), and slay queens (who many didn’t know
even the date Kenya gained independence from the British) to the House on the
Hill to celebrate his victory and forgot silent keyboard warriors who fought
the pyrrhic battle and made him win.
What President William Ruto forgot is that bloggers are what
made him president today and as it appears they are the same people who will
send him to political oblivion in Sugoi in 2027 if he doesn’t change.
My honest advice to Ruto is to identify bloggers who
believed in his idea of transforming the nation and avoid believing in some
inglorious bloggers who in the last election were on the opposite side and they
didn’t believe in the hustler’s gospel.
The Political Eye
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