Ruto's multiple problems and why they are not likely to fizzle out soon

President William Ruto addresses residents after the launch of the Sogoo-Melelo-Ololung’a Road, during a tour of Narok County, on May 7, 2025. [File, Standard]

William Samoei Ruto is a man in trouble because the people who narrowly elected him in August 2022 are very unhappy with his performance. To gain his margin of victory over Raila Odinga, with barely 200,000 votes, he had promised to be accountable but he has instead disappointed. That disappointment was most clear in the national commemoration of the 35th Saba Saba Day, combined with the Gen Z demonstrations over police brutality, bad economy, and seeming condoning of goons to destroy targeted property. Kenya’s combined opposition, with the noticeable absence of Dr Ruto ‘co-president’ Raila’s ODM, laid the blame for the bloodshed and destruction at Ruto’s feet.

The build-up to the disappointment had involved strategic mistakes which implied that policymakers had deficiency in strategic thinking. Subsequently, decisions tended to demoralise rather than to uplift citizens partly because explanations were not satisfactory. There was, for instance, the decision to deprive soldiers of their traditional lunches which made the government to appear not to care about the readiness and fitness of its soldiers. This sent the wrong signal to Kenya’s potential adversaries that our country is weak. Decision makers showed similar insensitivity by depriving thousands of Kenyans of opportunities to get good education at all levels, including accessing the universities. Such decisions did not make Ruto to look good despite efforts to divert attention from prevailing national misery.