Why President Ruto is an angry man

President William Ruto is an angry man. His anger is demonstrated by the tone of his public speeches, the choice of words, and targets to point to a man whose patience with his critics has run thin.

The Head of State has lately displayed his anger as he responds to his critics who have been accusing him of engaging in early campaigns and also criticizing his administration over its performance.

Although it has been three months since Ruto’s deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua was kicked out of office in a process that the president never commented about, something has changed this week.

In a rare display of ire against the former DP, Ruto denigrated him as incompetent, corrupt and a tribalist during his weeklong tour of Western Kenya. In what appeared like a well-crafted script, other leaders accompanying the president in his “development” cum political tour fired salvos at Gachagua.

Last weekend, Gachagua attacked the president for being domineering, claiming that he always wrote scripts for leaders about what to say in public meetings and later turned against them using the same speeches they had made.

But the president is not only angry with Gachagua. He had unflattering words for Wiper Democratic Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka. Kalonzo earned the president’s wrath for claiming that Ruto had already embarked on early campaigns disguised as development tours. 

Speaking in Busia yesterday, the President told off leaders saying that he has started early re-election campaigns, wondering whether the projects that he is launching and supervising across the country were in existence or on whether it was mere politics that is being advanced.

There are people saying we have started early campaigns. Stop diarrhearing. Once we start proper campaigns, you will flee in panic. Tell them we are just planning development projects.” said Ruto, atop his armoured presidential car.

The President also took issue with Kalonzo for questioning the payment of a Sh150 million bonus to sugarcane farmers wondering why the opposition leader has not raised concern when tea or coffee farmers are paid bonuses, questioning why he has problem with the latest payment.

Ruto said that it was a matter of great concern that some leaders were happy whenever Kenyans wallowed in poverty so that they can use that as a political campaign tool after every five years saying that citizens were wary of such leaders who will never be given a chance to lead.

“When I came to Mumias last year I promised farmers to eliminate cartels and ensure that farmers are paid, in the first time we have paid bonus to sugarcane farmers, you have had some leaders asking where we got the money, are these people really okay,” said Ruto.

The President has for the last three months avoided attacking his impeached deputy but has recently changed tact and decided to go for his jugular over what is perceived to be the sustained attacks by his former ally now turned foe now becoming a thorn in the flesh of his leadership.

Ruto has sustained his criticism against Gachagua during his five-day tour of Western Kenya labeling him as incompetent, corrupt and tribal which is a clear change of tact on how he will be dealing with his ally now turned foe who has personally been very critical of his former boss.

Gachagua has since his impeachment last October taken advantage of every opportunity to criticize the performance of his former boss.

“We have a broad-based government in place that is uniting Kenyans, those tribal leaders involved in shareholding schemes, those who were perpetuating conmanship, incompetence and ethnic-driven politics have no place in our country today since all citizens are equal,” said Ruto.

This sharply contrasts with Ruto’s perception of Gachagua in May 2022 when he picked him as his running mate, at the expense of the current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki. At the time, he explained that he had made that decision since he had acknowledged that Gachagua has a strong personality.

“When choosing my running mate, I went for someone with a strong personality because running the country requires men and women who cannot escape responsibility that is why I settled on Gachagua because he is someone who can stand up to any challenge,” said Ruto. 

Before Ruto’s newest attack, the onslaught against Gachagua has been left to National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, National Assembly Chief Whip Silvanus Osoro and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi among others.

Ruto is unhappy that his opponents are only seeking popularity in press conferences and social media platforms, forgetting that Kenyans are only interested in hearing what they have done or plan to do for them instead of engaging in empty rhetoric that has no value to citizens.

“Those who are criticizing the good work we are doing across the country must have been visited by the devil himself. How can they equate the good work we are doing by launching and inspecting projects to early election campaigns? That is very wrong,” said Ruto.

 Gachagua who has been hosting delegations from various parts of the country at Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri County since the beginning of the year has lately which must have contributed former boss which must have irked the President forcing him to retaliate.

Gachagua recently said that Ruto had hatched a plan to shortchange the Mount Kenya region during the election of East Africa Legislative Assembly Members of Parliament in November 2022 leading to the region candidates losing in the first round of voting.

“The President told his people not to vote for a candidate from Mount Kenya for EALA despite them having a majority stake in Kenya Kwanza. He asked me to respect to respect the decision made by Parliament. I told him point blank he had shortchanged us,” said Gachagua.

 Ichungwah has accused Gachagua of not being seen in the two years he served in the position of deputy President launching any development projects but was instead busy engaging in tribal and divisive politics that made him very unpopular among the majority of Kenyans.

“When we are agitating for better coffee prices and support for milk production someone is telling us about 2027 elections and to blackmail the President, yet he failed to improve the prices of Agricultural products when he was given that responsibility,” said Ichungwah.

Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo asked the President to stop moving around the country spending millions of shillings that could have been put to better use and should copy the example of late President Mwai Kibaki who manage the country from state house Nairobi.

“The President is only displaying dictatorship. He should stop moving the entire government across the country spending millions of shillings daily that could have been saved and put into better use, he needs to copy what late President Mwai Kibaki used to do,” said Maanzo.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka asked Ruto to relax and deliver on the pledges he made to Kenyans since several leaders have shown interest in doing the job he was given by Kenyans if he fails to deliver by 2027 and that he can only convince Kenyans to give him a second chance if he delivers.

“Ruto should stop displaying a condescending attitude to other leaders who are pointing out the failures in his administration, he was given a job to perform by Kenyans who will hold him to account in 2027, if he does not deliver he has got himself to blame when Kenyans vote him out of office,” said Onyonka.