Rising animosity between Raila and Ruto bodes ill for country

Immediately after the October 26, 2017 repeat Presidential election, the risk of the country imploding was real. During the pre-election campaign period, one could feel the undertones of tension. When, therefore, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declared Uhuru Kenyatta winner of the August 8, 2017 Presidential election, there was an outcry from the opposition.

Reluctantly, not sure of their chances at the Supreme Court, the opposition leaders filed a petition against Uhuru’s election.

But despite their fears, a Judiciary independent of Executive interference proved both parties to the dispute wrong. The opposition was amazed to have won the petition while a confident Jubilee was stupefied to have lost. That ruling brought out the worst in President Kenyatta who called the Supreme Court Judges ‘wakora’ (crooks).

Yet surprisingly, the opposition chose to boycott the repeat poll, claiming that IEBC as it was could not be trusted to conduct free and fair elections. It did not help that there were obvious divisions within the electoral body and worse, the murder of an official of the electoral body shortly before the August election heightened suspicion. Tension ran high as both sides dug in; the opposition having termed Uhuru’s second win as fraudulent. The standoff led to the swearing in of Raila Odinga as the Peoples President on January 30, 2018. The trenches had been dug, and the worst was yet to come.

However, in one of the most baffling occurrences, President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga literally agreed to bury the hatchet on March9, 2018 at the doorsteps of the President’s office at Harambee house. The deflation of tension was instantaneous, and the country has been peaceful since then.

Indeed, the shilling appreciated against the dollar and heightened investor confidence in Kenya as an investment destination of choice. All has been quiet, until Deputy President William Ruto, while on tour in Mombasa, fired a broadside on Raila on Saturday. Ruto claims Raila is out to wreck Jubilee and have him kicked out of the party. The rejoinders from ODM have been swift.

Allowing this situation to spiral out of control will claw back gains made since the handshake, which is to say, a lot. Political competition should not be personalized.

What leaders need to do is sell their visions and ideologies to the voters; for at the end of the day, it is the voters who will have the final say.