Uhuru, Ruto handshake offers sobering lessons about politics

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto at Harambee Annex, Nairobi.

Social media was in a frenzy when President Uhuru Kenyatta strolled into the Harambee House Annex office of his deputy William Ruto on Tuesday afternoon. In newsroom parlance, this was a case of a man biting a dog. Ordinarily, it is expected that those two would meet anyway. Not least because of the camaraderie that the two seemed to enjoy in their first term.

There was even more symbolism when the two shook hands “for the cameras” echoing moments last year when Mr Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila shook hands on the steps of the building across the road.

In truth, these are no ordinary times. The incredible political marriage between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto has been rocked by endless bickering about two things or so it seems; the race to succeed Mr Kenyatta in 2022 and the all-out war on corruption. And depending, the first handshake has meant different things to different people:

To Mr Kenyatta- and most Kenyans- it brought peace and tranquility a key ingredient for development; those in Mr Ruto’s camp think otherwise.

And therein lies the rub. When former Jubilee Party vice chairman David Murathe talked about a plot to block Mr Ruto from succeeding Mr Kenyatta the ruling party was thrown into turmoil and they blame Mr Odinga for that.

The back-stabbing, the backbiting and the infighting seems to be getting ferocious by the day. Matters were made worse last week when Siaya Senator James Orengo – a Raila confident- talked of plans to impeach the Deputy President.

The tension in Jubilee has been misconstrued to mean that the centre is not holding. And so with nearly three years left of his second and last term, Mr Kenyatta must have come to the sad realization that the projection of bad blood between him and his deputy was a zero-sum game and that the dividend he hoped to gain from the rapprochement with Mr Odinga - his fiercest competitor in the last two elections- was quickly dissipating.

Worst of all, his Big 4 Agenda – his legacy projects- risked being severely undermined by the growing perception that not all the hands were on the deck.

Obviously then, Mr Kenyatta needed to act and steady the ship not just because his time is limited, but because ultimately, he stands to lose the most. Only he is the President of the Republic of Kenya. He couldn’t possibly do everything he wants to do within the three remaining years. That is made harder by distrust and infighting in his camp.

And so his handshake with his deputy can be seen as an attempt to calm the storm.

If nothing, Mr Kenyatta needed to gather his scattered troops and rally them behind his vision. Anything that sends the message that the house is on fire will undermine his legacy agenda and worst of all, set up the country for another round of acrimonious electioneering as 2022 draws closer.

But most importantly, there is evidence that the economy takes hard knocks from needless infighting and endless politicking. It is in Mr Kenyatta’s interest to leave behind an economy on a growth trajectory.

Additionally, he ought to spend the remainder of his time at State House reinforcing the institutions that underpin our democracy: the Judiciary, the IEBC, the civil society and Parliament. He also needs to ensure that the Fourth Estate thrives by doing away with policies that have ruined media business and largely curtailed its role as the public watchdog.

Additionally, we have cautioned before that even as President Kenyatta goes flat out to fix urgent governance and social issues like wastage, corruption, red tape in the bureaucracy, unemployment, poverty and injustice, he should endeavour to carry out political reforms. Kenya’s problems start and end with politics. Our politics is a conduit for power and illicit wealth. No wonder nobody wants to be left out of the scrum.

Mr Kenyatta has shown that he is no prisoner of any political grouping, but more than anything else, it is the political chaos associated with a last term that pose the greatest risk to Mr Kenyatta’s legacy – and Kenya’s future.

Mr Kenyatta should start by reengineering our party politics. Kenya needs strong parties with structures and clear agendas for the people and the country. The rancour in his party is an indication of weakness and not strength.

This newspaper has observed before that at the heart of the matter is genuine grievance over our brand of politics that is largely exclusionist: the party in power will do everything – by hook or crook – to stay in power while the Opposition tries all it can to get into power.

That the country is saddled with an Opposition that sees and hears no evil and cheers on gleefully as the Jubilee Party is consumed by internecine fights is evidence of dysfunctional politics.

Were he to fix that, Mr Kenyatta will have shown that his decision to work with Mr Odinga was not in vain the handshake with his deputy notwithstanding. He will leave an indelible mark.