Ruto’s political teeth were not cut in democratic struggle

By Miguna Miguna

In November 1987, I was the Finance Secretary of the Students Organisation of Nairobi University (Sonu). At that time, there was a young man in first year Bachelor of Science class known as William Samoei Ruto.

The young man was not known for anything exceptional apart from the fact that he was a regular at the Christian Union meetings at Ufungamano House, next to the university halls of residence. Then, William Ruto thumbed through Psalms and sang Christian hymns.

Early morning on November 14, 1987, more than 80 per cent of University of Nairobi students rose up in protest against the single party dictatorship of the then President Moi who had ordered the arrest of five student leaders, including myself, for leading their fellow students in concerted campaigns for multi-party democracy.

On November 14, the young Ruto ate tear-gas for the first time, as he knelt down inside the Ufungamano House, praying for God to stop the confrontation between the students and the police outside.

However, Ruto’s prayers did not stop the brutality and carnage of President Moi’s repressive forces that day. Many students were raped, beaten, arrested, tortured and arbitrarily detained incommunicado without trial. When some of us were eventually released from brutal detention and torture, the university had been closed indefinitely and students sent home. I was expelled together with the entire student leadership except for one woman who had been a Government informer. Thereafter, some of us went into exile where we continued the fight for democracy.

Dramatic transformation

Less than five years after the young Ruto suffocated under Moi’s tear-gas and tasted the truncheons merely for kneeling in prayer, he went through a dramatic transformation. Instead of praying for the Holy Ghost to redeem the country from dictatorship, Ruto became Moi’s disciple. Rather than join his fellow students in fighting and opposing repression, Ruto joined the Youth for Kanu ’92.

Given what he had been subjected to, albeit briefly, it is understandable why the young man would later prefer to be on the side of those throwing tear-gas canisters rather than being on the receiving end. Perhaps he understood the "superiority" of raw power to godliness.

Within one year of graduation, and without having held a job, Ruto became a millionaire. Subsequently, his name was synonymous with all the bad things associated with the Kanu regime. So much so that when the 1992 General Election was held, he and Cyrus Jirongo became leading lights in Moi’s first election campaign; not because of their exceptional intellect, but due to their skills in issuing threats, intimidating Moi’s opponents.

Whenever and wherever Moi could not get his way, the two ‘Bad Boys’ made sure that the ground was softened. Accordingly, Ruto, Jirongo and company became certified political experts at softening targets.

Hence, Ruto’s political teeth were not cut in democratic discourse and struggle. The type of politics he learnt at the feet of his masters had nothing to do with persuasion or debate.

I was therefore not surprised to read that Ruto has lined up Uhuru Kenyatta, Kalonzo Musyoka and Cyrus Jirongo as his 2012 General Election running mates. Those are natural choices. Kenyans could not have expected a better line-up. In that line-up, Kenyans can, once and for all, sort out those who have stood on the wrong side of history.

Ruto has declared that he wants to become president in 2012. But there is a small matter with his campaign gimmick. First, Ruto claims that he has differed with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga over the youth arrested by police in the aftermath of 2007 General Election.

He accuses Raila of not standing up for those youth. Yet, it is the PM, not Ruto, who has constantly raised the issue of the youth who were unlawfully arrested or killed by the police. The PM has done that both publicly and within Government. As a senior member of the Grand Coalition Government, what has Ruto done to seek justice for those youth?

Second, Ruto claims that he has differed with Raila over the treatment of post-election violence suspects. Presumably, he is saying that those suspects should not be tried and punished even if they are found guilty. Yet, Ruto was a member of the Serena Team that constituted the Waki Commission; Raila was not. Why blame Raila for the Waki recommendations? If Ruto is seeking justice for the youth arrested or killed, why is he opposed to the justice prescribed by the Waki Commission? Doesn’t Ruto want those who killed, maimed, tortured and unlawfully arrested the youth punished?

It is public knowledge that Ruto and Uhuru are fabulously wealthy. But apart from wealth, can anyone please explain to me what qualifies the ‘KKK’ junior squad for top leadership?

The writer is PM’s Advisor, Coalition Affairs and Joint Secretary to the Permanent Committee on the Management of Grand Coalition Affairs.