Why Kenyatta can’t contain an emboldened DP in government

You must never be too close to people you may have to fight one day. Confess nothing to one-time rivals because they are potential enemies. This is the most important lesson every politician should cram into their noggin. In Kiswahili – kikulacho ki nguoni mwako (your best friend is your worst enemy). That’s why there should be no friendship in politics, only interests. This is the cardinal sin that Gatundu’s Uhuru Kenyatta committed with Eldoret’s William Ruto when the duo formed Jubilee. Mr Kenyatta, unlike Mr Ruto, appears to have confessed too much to secure the latter’s hand in their political marriage. Now, Ruto is using those secrets to hogtie Kenyatta. That’s why Ruto has called Kenyatta’s bluff.

Let me peel your eyes, and tell you why Ruto is eating Kenyatta’s lunch. First, Ruto, who has described himself as a “hustler” – and not a prince – has amassed enormous wealth. How the son of a peasant did it in plain sight no one can really say unless Kenya’s investigators grow some cojones and tell us. But Ruto knew the only way to play in the big leagues is to grab wealth – by hook, or crook. Today, the whispering classes say that Ruto has more money than God. In a political system where corruption is king, and the electorate can be bought for a shilling, Ruto’s primitive accumulation of money was a masterstroke.