One can say Deputy President William Ruto is not ideal as president in 2022 but that would imply there is an ideal candidate, which is not true.
In Kenya and virtually in every country headed by a politician, there is no one who is ideal as president or the country’s leader.
Everyone who aspires to be a leader of his or her country has his or her flaws or weaknesses that make them less than ideal for the position.
However, in a mature democracy where the rule of law is paramount and voters have a say in who is elected in a fair and free election, the less-than-ideal leader is voted for because they rise above their competitors as the more desirable despite their real or perceived flaws or weaknesses.
No one can seriously argue that Kenya is a mature democracy. We have seen even in the US, which has claimed or have been deemed to be mature, how not true that is.
This leaves us in an imperfect world where choices for national leaders must be made from the less-than-ideal candidates in a less democratic environment even among those countries with fledgling democracies.
The question then becomes whether Ruto is desirable as the next president. The answer is no, he is not. The same question can be asked whether the only other serious contender for the presidency is desirable but that is for another day, suffice to say, yes, he is.
For now, let us focus on Ruto.
Why is he not desirable as president in 2022? If there was plenty of time and space to explore the question, few will be reading even halfway through for there is plenty that can be said.
There are three primary reasons, and one is secondary but equally dispositive. First, ask anyone who is not a Ruto supporter why they do not support him, the answer you are likely to get is that he is a “thief” or a “land grabber” or something along that line of thought.
A rebuttal from him or his supposrters would be he has not been charged of any such a crime and if you have any evidence, to present it.
A surrebuttal would be if his political opponents, especially those who have the instruments of power had such “goods” on him, they will make their move at an ideal time that has yet to be.
Second, ask anyone who is objective and has no dog in the fight why Ruto is not desirable as president and they will tell you we need a break from yet another Kalenjin or Kikuyu president.
The corollary would be the presidency cannot rotate between two communities, which is a proposition now fully embraced by President Uhuru Kenyatta and many key leaders and politicians from the region.
Third, when Ronald Reagan famously quipped, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience," he won the hearts of many, including many who did not like him because he stated a truth that transcends nations and cultures going back generations.
When ODM leader Raila Odinga vied for the presidency in 2013, many of us made the case—and he did to some extent — that he will be a transitional leader we proposed to be one-term to usher in new leadership to head the country in the direction we still long to go.
We can either have that moment in 2022, or a youthful Ruto, if he ascends to the presidency, and given good health as his tutor, he will be there longer and never mind there are laws that dictate term limits for the presidency.
He will have them changed at will and we will most likely have Daniel Moi 2.0 and possibly worse.
That tempting prospect can only be cured with age and time.
Samuel Omwenga is a legal analyst and political commentator
