In Greek mythology, heroes often meet their downfall due to a fatal flaw, an Achilles' heel that undoes them despite being born with extraordinary gifts. It’s a theme that has uncanny parallels in modern politics where the personal shortcomings of leaders can sometimes overshadow their talents.
Examples abound. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Bill Clinton and Jacob Zuma had a zipper problem while Hugo Chávez and Robert Mugabe, blinded by their own sense of infallibility, led their nations into economic ruin despite being blessed by nature’s bounty.
President William Ruto is no exception. A compelling case can be made that the recent spate of weekly protests in Kenya is a direct result of Ruto's evident shortcomings as a leader. His most defining flaw? A startling lack of imagination. Don’t take my word for it.
Michelle Gavin, a senior fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, recently described Ruto’s actions in a widely read piece published by Foreign Affairs magazine as indicative of a leader "totally at sea," citing his “mixed messages” and the renomination of disreputable Cabinet secretaries.
Similarly, a recent Financial Times editorial criticised Ruto’s decision to advance a politically incendiary Finance Bill, noting its potential to provoke significant unrest: “Rolling out the waves of new levies simultaneously shows a lack of political acumen and a disregard for the plight of impoverished Kenyans.”
Closer to home, one of Ruto’s staunchest allies, Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi, recently warned that if the President recycled the same old faces in his Cabinet, it would expose the fact “that the fundamental problem this country faces is the President himself.”
These assessments of President Ruto’s recent public missteps are unfortunately accurate. Kenyans are not famous for their high tolerance for economic hardship. A leader with even a modicum of foresight would have anticipated that imposing further economic pain while showing no signs of personal austerity would be met with widespread backlash.
Instead, blind to the brewing storm, Ruto pushed forward and paid the price for it by becoming the first Kenyan President ever to be forced to veto his own Finance Bill.
Unfortunately, Ruto appears to have failed to internalise the political lessons from recent weeks. His renomination of the “usual suspects” to key Cabinet positions raises serious questions about his political judgement and ability to see around corners.
Ditto Ruto’s support for the return of church harambees even though most Kenyans view them as conduits for corruption. Both actions reveal a lack of innovative thinking and a failure to grasp the damaging impact they have on public trust.
More telling about Ruto’s lack of imagination is the fact he still somehow hasn’t awakened to the reality that he has “a good problem” on his hands. World-beating economies are often built on the energy and ambition of their young, as evidenced by the rise of tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook.
If harnessed effectively, the creativity, drive, innovation and humour of Kenya’s young people could transform the nation within our lifetime. Ruto’s most pressing challenge, if he chooses to embrace it, is to channel these underutilised talents effectively.
That said, the challenges of Ruto’s troubled presidency invite a broader reflection on the systemic flaws in how power is incubated and exercised in Kenya. The country can ill afford leaders who excel at campaigning but falter in the crucial tasks of day-to-day governance. To overcome our current predicament, Kenyans must demand of their leader talents that go beyond political manoeuvring.
Ruto’s presidency is a stark reminder, if one were needed, that true leadership requires more than just the ability to win elections; it demands the vision and courage to create lasting change. Without these qualities, even the most gifted politicians are doomed to fail, leaving their nations to pay the price.
In the past, leaders like Nelson Mandela and Julius Nyerere have shown us that the doom loop of Greek mythology is escapable. All it demands is considerable personal courage and humility.