Nothing is drawing so much interest in Kenya’s primetime news than the acrimonious and often hostile relationship between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Dr. William Ruto. The main reason has been widely thought to be their competing interests in holding Kenya’s top job after 2022.
William Ruto is rightfully entitled to compete for the presidency under the current constitution, Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand is not legally allowed to run for the presidency in 2022 because by then he will have exhausted his two terms maximum to hold office as per Kenya’s constitution.
But Uhuru Kenyatta is full of pride, arrogance and a sense of entitlement as he comes from the so called “dynasty” family since he is the son of Kenya’s founding father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
Since Mr. Kenyatta does not qualify to run for office in 2022, there is an obvious attempt to pressure the Kenyan citizens to support his BBI propaganda and then eventually change the constitution so as to allow despot Uhuru Kenyatta to extend his reign in power past 2022.
But the question most Kenyans should ask is this one: What if a majority of Kenyans turn out to be intelligent and flatly reject the referendum and overwhelmingly turn down the attempt to change the constitution? Who will rise to power in 2022 if the current constitution stands and Uhuru Kenyatta is unceremoniously sent to his hometown of Gatundu to commence his retirement in 2022?
The answer is Dr. Willium Ruto will happily be elected as Kenya’s fifth president. Below, I will show you why this will be the only feasible option for Kenyans across the country. Keep reading.
William Ruto: The Shrewd Politician
It goes without saying that currently, Dr. William Ruto is the most educated man in Kenyan politics. Mr. Ruto is even more educated than his own boss, president Uhuru Kenyatta because the former just recently completed and graduated with his doctorate degree while Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta only has a two year diploma in Economics and Political Science from Amherst University in Massachusetts, the United States.
What keeps Kenyans “contented” with Uhuru as a leader is his fame of being Jomo Kenyatta’s son. To put to perspective why education level is important, you need to look at the 2017 gubernatorial elections in Kiambu County. The two contestants for the top seat in that county faced-off and traded insults after insults regarding whose education was superior than the other person’s.
William Kabogo who was the “current champion” cast doubt at his challenger, Waititu regarding the latter’s “fake” academic qualifications from Punjabi University. While Waititu was eventually able to deliver a knockout punch and dislodge Kabogo from the Kiambu governorship seat, his earned victory was short-lived as Mr. Waititu was finally impeached due to corruption scandals on January 29, 2020, only two years after ascending to power.
If education was a determinant bonafide requirement for the presidency, it is safe to say Dr. William Ruto thrashes all of his opponents tremendously and hence will easily ascend to the top political office in Kenya in 2022.
But not withstanding education, William Ruto has an advantage has he has shadowed Uhuru Kenyatta for the past 8 years as the deputy president. William Ruto has even been tasked to act as the President in-an-acting capacity when Uhuru Kenyatta was abroad as was the case in October 7th, 2014 when Mr. Kenyatta was at the Hague.
Uhuru Kenyatta briefly surrendered power to William Ruto and left the country because Uhuru was not sure whether he will be able to return to Kenya after attending his ICC case for charges of Crime Against Humanity in 2014. On that day, it is important to note that Uhuru Kenyatta left the country as a private citizen, leaving behind his security detail, the presidential entourage and other trappings of power.
But political bandits will ask why Ruto when we have a lot of other political leaders like Gideon Moi, Moses Kuria, Mr. Ichungwa, Kalonzo Musyoka and many others? Well, these other politicians come in short when compared to the current deputy president. Below, I have analyzed some of the top politicians who are thought to rival the deputy president for the 2022 Kenya Presidential Election.
Gideon Moi: The Political Dwarf
Apart from Uhuru Kenyatta, Gideon Moi is widely seen as the main rival of William Samoei Ruto for the presidency in 2022 and as the Kalenjin kingpin. Although there is mentions that Mr. Gideon Moi is better than William Ruto, such assumptions are chiefly unfounded and greatly underscores and trivializes Mr. William Ruto’s almost impeccable political career.
It is important to note that Gideon Moi is an underachiever and has not even risen to the top seat in his own county of Baringo. Mr. Gideon Moi only contests for easy to win seats as he is scared of losing in a real political challenge like that of a governor.
Mr. Moi will be considered as a serious opponent if he can first campaign and win the gubernatorial election for the Baringo County before he can even think of running for presidency. Gideon Moi’s highest political office has been that of a Senator from Baringo and a Member of Parliament from the same county.
He has never been a minister of any department and has never held any other office apart from the two mentioned above. For people to think that Gideon Moi is at the same level as William Samoei Ruto is delusional and juvenile-like, to say the least.
Moses Kuria: The Rebel From The Mount Kenya Region.
Moses Kuria replaced Jossy Ngugi as the Member of Parliament for Gatundu South in 2013. As a University of Nairobi Graduate, Mr. Kuria has made it clear that he is a staunch admirer of Mwai Kibaki and attribute his interest in politics to the inspiration of the former Kenyan president.
While there are some people in Kenya who strongly believe that Moses Kuria will be William Ruto’s running mate come 2022, such reports have never been confirmed nor denied.
It is important to note that Mr. Kuria has never served as a minister in any ministry in Kenya. In fact, the position of an MP is the highest political office Mr. Kuria has ever achieved and hence his portfolio pales when compared side by side to that of deputy president William Ruto. But the two stand a chance of winning the presidency in 2022 if they settle down sooner and start seriously campaigning before it is too late to do so.
The other leaders who may run for the presidency in 2022 other than the perennial loser, Raila Odinga and the ones discussed above includes: Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Mr. Ichungwa, Peter Kenneth and many other more. Politics is a pragmatic and psychological game and hence since it appears that these “lesser” leaders do not believe in themselves, it is very unlikely that a majority of Kenyans will trust them and hence vote for them.
The muddy waters of Kenyan politics will become clear when the impending referendum is conducted to change the constitution. If the “NO” side wins, then it will be a walk in the park for Dr. William Samoei Ruto to run and ultimately win the presidency for the 2022 presidential election as Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga together with Gideon Moi’s coalition will become irrelevant.
