Perched on the sunroof of his vehicle, President Ruto must have this week thought that if he said he has not begun campaigning for re-election enough times, then his words would ring true.
He could be right, especially considering that he has been on a forever campaign that preceded his election as Kenya’s fifth president – you cannot start what you never stopped, as critics have often argued.
“Wale wanasema tumeanza siasa acheni kuhara mapema. Siasa bado. Sasa mnasema hii na siku tutaanza siasa yenyewe mtakimbia… mambo bado. (Those saying that we have begun politics, don’t soil yourself too soon. We have not begun the real politics. If you are complaining about this, then you will run when we start the real politics,” Dr Ruto said last week as he toured Western Kenya in what he calls development tours.
He was responding to criticism from Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who accused him of campaigning for the 2027 elections with slightly less than three years to the next elections.
“It is now official that what William Ruto is trying to do is to formulate his re-election campaign,” Kalonzo had said.
For more than five years, Ruto has consistently denied engaging in early campaigns. It was the case when former President Uhuru Kenyatta called him out in 2018 for spending days and nights on the road, branding him a loiterer.
Spooked by handshake
The former Head of State would appear desperate as he tried to calm the ambitions of his then deputy, urging him to focus on delivering their promises to Kenyans. But Ruto was spooked by Uhuru’s handshake with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
READ: Ruto’s early campaigns mask his failures, claims Kalonzo
The pair was popularising their Building Bridges Initiative constitutional amendment push equally with political rallies. Possibly concerned that Uhuru would back Raila in 2022 and go back on his “Yangu kumi, ya Ruto kumi” promise, Ruto would camp in the former president’s Mount Kenya backyard.
And so Ruto spent weekends addressing roadside rallies, which he claimed were aimed to ensure the government was delivering on its promises. He has never stopped the habit. Over the last week, he has been in Western Kenya, convening rallies that mirror those held at the height of campaigns, and countless church visits.
He occasionally uses the events to launch a project or two, capping them off with heavily political speeches. Acting as the master of ceremonies, the President invites members of his entourage to speak and they adopt a single message. Last Thursday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua lamented that he has been made a subject of the “development tours”.
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State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed previously told The Sunday Standard that the president’s tours were part of his job and a means of “accounting to the public”.
Inspect projects
“How can anyone take an issue with the President meeting the people of Kenya in their villages, estates and counties? As president, meeting the people and inspecting projects is a vital part of his job. Critics should stop imagining that leadership is confined to sitting in an office. It is about being on the ground and ensuring progress first-hand,” said Mohamed.
READ: William Ruto’s 2027 chances still high even as the Mountain drifts away
Uriri Member of Parliament Mark Nyamita holds this view, saying the President has a role to inform Kenyans about what he was doing.
“In politics, if you do something and people don’t know about it, then you haven’t done it. If you are building a market you must say you are. If you are connecting electricity, then you must say it as well. The people saying, he is campaigning are hoping to mislead Kenyans that the government is doing nothing,” said Nyamita.
Indeed, such concerns forced Uhuru into announcing his administration’s achievements through the Government Delivers campaign. Ruto, too, has his Kasongo Delivers version pushed by bloggers.
But governance consultant Tom Mboya observed that the president’s ‘development tours’ were mostly focused on promises for the future and not achievements thus far.
“It is clear that the president’s priorities are more political and not developmental. Development priorities should be able to speak for themselves. Rather than going on development tours to say what you will do, they should be about demonstrating what has been done. We are still hearing a lot of futuristic talk and questions arise as to whether or not the government has the necessary policies to implement the promises,” said Mboya.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi said the constant campaigns would see Kenya Kwanza fail to deliver in their first term in office.
“The president is campaigning. Kenya Kwanza is campaigning and they are not exciting people because of the hardship inflicted by this administration. Sadly, they will not stop their campaigns to focus on working for Kenyans and many projects will stall. They have to keep promising more projects everywhere they go and are reducing ministry budgets to increase the president’s,” Mwangangi claimed.
Formidable challenger
While Ruto maintains that he is not campaigning for re-election, his allies have betrayed him with their words. Throughout last week, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi suggested that with Raila in Ruto’s corner, the Head of State faces no formidable challenger in his re-election bid.
That Ruto has been plotting his re-election bid has been an open secret since he ascended to the presidency in September 2022. His first actions involved wooing opposition lawmakers to his side as he sought to establish control of Parliament.
He would keep the tempo up until last year when a youth-led revolt over proposed tax increases forced him into an unlikely hiatus. At the height of the protests, Ruto stayed indoors, venturing out only when the coast was clear.
His new alliance with Raila gave him a confidence boost and the president has projected an air of confidence. The roping in of five opposition figures into his Cabinet – John Mbadi (Treasury), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), Hassan Joho (Mining), Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives) and Beatrice Askul (East African Community) – was in itself aimed to bring on board Raila’s traditional bases.
ALSO READ: Ruto allies hit out at Gachagua, campaign for 2027 elections
Insiders have consistently revealed that the Head of State plans to assemble a team of politicians to drive his re-election bid. Indeed, the appointment of politicians to the Cabinet has betrayed this agenda. Besides the five Raila allies, the president recently appointed three politicians – former Governors Lee Kinyanjui (Trade and Industry) and William Kabogo (ICT), as well as Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture) – into his Cabinet.
It is believed that the three will help Ruto to stem the political haemorrhage he is suffering in Mt Kenya, a region that contributed the most votes to the president’s basket.
Playing politics is not confined to the Head of State. Deputy President Kindiki Kithure has also gone into overdrive. He has recently met delegations from different counties at his Karen residence to spread Ruto’s gospel to the grassroots.
State functionaries are helping Ruto to keep his face in the minds of the masses. His bloggers are flooding social media with posters and video clips highlighting the government’s achievements and to counter criticism from those who feel that he is not delivering for Kenyans.
Among Kenya’s heads of state, Ruto has set himself apart for his love for rallies. While Uhuru also enjoyed venturing out to meet the masses, he was not nearly half as busy as his former deputy. The late President Mwai Kibaki was less so.
Often criticised for being a poor politician, Kibaki hardly ever spent his tenure on campaign podiums. The late President Daniel arap Moi frequented churches, a strategy Ruto has borrowed. One would have to go back to the late president’s tenure to find an era when politics was as charged as it is now.
Mboya said the constant campaigns are “not entirely helpful and not in the interest of mwananchi” as they elevate politics above all other critical issues.
