- There are also men that President William Ruto owes a debt for their roles in the 2022 campaigns.
- These people are doing nothing but destabilising his presidency, providing support and comfort to other forces that are doing the same.
Image: MAGATI OBEBO
In case anyone has any doubts, the country is already in the 2027 election mode. This is most unfortunate because what that means is nothing is going to happen for the next several years to improve people’s lives other than those positioning themselves to benefit from the money already being dished around to woo the gullible.
Hoi polloi, namely, the mama mbogas, boda boda riders, and virtually everyone other than those in gainful employment, will continue to wallow in the same miserable conditions they were promised would be a thing of the past.
That is not to say President William Ruto cannot turn this ship around or at least prevent it from going over the cliff; he can but the question is: would he?
That remains to be seen, and anyone who cares about the country would still have to give the head of state the benefit of the doubt to at least try and do the right thing to stop this hurtling of the country in the wrong direction.
That assumes we all have the same definition of what the right thing is.
It may not be the case.
Every president has two contradictory choices they must constantly make at any given time: that which is politically expedient on the one hand, and that which is not but is better long-term and for the larger good.
It is extremely rare that those two choices can be exercised or carried out at the same time; rather, it is always one at the expense of the other.
Confining this to Kenya, history is replete with examples of how political expediency gave birth to major headaches and even deadly outcomes that could have been avoided.
However, it does not follow that choosing that which is good or right brings a desired outcome. Rather, successful execution for both political expediency and that which is good or right in the long-term requires exceptional planning, resource allocation and flawless implementation.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio leader Raila Odinga fell short in all these three components of strategy execution, making it possible for Ruto to pursue that which was politically expedient for him and Kenya Kwanza in the 2022 general election.
For those who marvelled at the brilliance of Ruto’s campaign strategy, his performance as President thus far has exposed for all to see why political expediency always fails in the long run.
That is why it is a far much better proposition to strategise for the long-term, even at the expense of losing short-term, than the other way around.
In other words, in the context of the current situation the head of state finds himself—and therefore the country, he may have brilliantly executed a politically expedient strategy that saw him sworn as President, but that came at a price, how he paying and the country are paying dearly, and is he poised to become a one-term leader.
There are also men he owes a debt for their roles in the 2022 campaigns. These people are doing nothing but destabilising his presidency, providing support and comfort to other forces that are doing the same. These include a battered economy, corruption and austerity measures that are certain to make things worse.
Take Gusii, for example. Ruto’s foot soldier in the region in 2022 was rewarded with a plum position in the National Assembly, a position the person is least qualified for. The man is accused of abusing the office to throw his lightweight around, which has, on many occasions, resulted in violence.
How that helps the President in Gusii come 2027 is not anyone’s guess because it doesn’t. The head of state stopping this impunity might help matters a little, otherwise he will be seen to be tacitly condoning violence.