Fixation with ‘political debts’ casts tall shadow on Ruto bid

Deputy President William Ruto addresses residents in Kisii County.

Deputy President William Ruto’s regular refrain that Kenya owes him the presidency betrays a strange obsession with himself. Those who wish to lead us ought to come to us telling us what they want us to be, rather than what they want to be. How best do they want us to live our lives? This is the most critical question they must ask and answer satisfactorily. Your campaign platform should never be that someone is paying a debt to you. 

Progressive leaders talk about the debt of leadership to society. This is the debt of good governance. In contrast to this is jungle leadership. This is a self-focused leadership, like that of the lion in the jungle. The lion imagines that the jungle owes it everything. Other predators in the same jungle also imagine that it is their jungle and that all good things there are theirs. Hence, you have a greedy and acquisitive jungle that is ruled by competing raw appetites. Every beast wants to grab everything in sight. Life is nasty, short and brutish.

In a civilised society, we ask about how best the people should live. Like all beings that have been separated from the natural environment, our focus is on what is good for society. This is an old question. Indeed, it has engaged political minds from ancient antiquity to the present day. It is the only focus that should inform a presidential campaign – what do you want the people to be, now that you want to be the president? The focus must remain squarely on “the good life” for the people, and not on “your turn to be the president.”

But what is “the good life”? At the heart of ancient Greek philosophy was the question of “the good life.”

The good life was understood as a life virtue. The goal of life was to seek virtue. Virtue meant a happy life, founded around such concepts as good versus evil, courage, honesty, kindness and such other positive notions. From the individual life, the pursuit of “the good life” naturally flowed into society. For, society will increase or diminish an individual’s pursuit of “the good life.” Concepts like justice, freedom and how society should be organized come into the picture. Ultimately, every citizen wants a piece of “the good life.”

Imaginary debts

How should society be governed by you so that we all enjoy “the good life”? What is going to be the relationship between those who govern and the citizens? These are the questions Mr Ruto should be addressing, instead of talking about imaginary political debts. Citizens want to know how your leadership will affect their lives, liberty and general happiness. Is their property safe under your watch and command? Social science defines “property” as life and estates. Can our lives and estates be safe under “President William Ruto?” We desire to lead happy lives in liberty. Can “President Ruto” guarantee us the enjoyment of these desires? For, these desires are universal. They have best been captured in the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence.

“… that all men (and women) are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness … that to secure these rights, governments are instituted … deriving their just powers from the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles … as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness.”

Clearly, Thomas Jefferson, the author of these words, had in mind a “form of government” rather than a “regime.” A form of government would be a monarchy for example, as opposed to a democratic system of government. A regime, on the other hand, would be any one specific tenure, regardless that it is under a monarchical or republican form of government. Jefferson was saying that if the monarchy did not guarantee safety and happiness, the people should remove it and try something new. 

Yet, equally important, even under any one form of government, if some regime fails the people, they should remove and replace it. That is the essence of democratic change of government. Those in power go back to the electorate seeking validation. They are basically saying that they have done a good job and are asking for an extension of tenure. The Opposition, on the other hand, faults those in power and seeks to replace them.

When you go to the people, therefore, you must tell them what is in it for them. Stop telling us that people have your debts. Why do you want to be the President?  In the end, Ruto’s obsession with “political debts” begins casting a tall shadow on his leadership credentials. Hopefully, he has some other card. He would do well to begin polishing up his act and getting it together. The crystal ball is beginning to indicate that 2022 is likely to be a two-horse race between the Deputy President and Musalia Mudavadi of ANC. 

To win this race, the Deputy President must change tack. He must drop the entitlement card and prepare to answer honest questions about quality living in Kenya today and tomorrow. How should Kenyans best live their lives under him?

What happiness is he promising them, beyond a personal ego trip to the centre of power? Why should they trust him?

-The writer is a strategic public communications adviser. [email protected]