What is driving DP Ruto to such desperation?

Francis Imbuga, the greatest satirical Playright of his time, in ‘Game of Silence’ wrote “…..the world no longer runs on the fuel it used to run on. That is why the book a man reads is more important than the man… My background demands silence of me, except at night when the belching of the men that matter drowns my mournful Protest.”

Fate does not come with greetings, and fate is unfolding right before our own eyes, yet we are helpless. Human beings are born weak and helpless then they become strong, rich and powerful and then again they grow old, weak and helpless.

Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the founding father of the Republic, went through these cycles of life and so did the second President Daniel arap Moi, but they did not make a great deal of their background.

They focused and groped about until what must happen did happen. Instead of flamboyant colours of heated imagination, they had rather the clear lines that compose a picture by a dispassionate observer of human destiny, who constructs a vision out of his awareness of an inexorable order. This is true of Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Kenneth Kaunda and others.

William Ruto is perhaps the greatest and the most consummate politician in Kenya today only rivaled by his nemesis Raila Odinga. Great leaders make, from their teams, great players through effective recruiting, mentoring, coaching, encouraging, rewarding, delegating and motivating them.

Minor trials

Even the dull and the ignorant must be sounded out and made to believe that they are great in their own right. Consensus is sought in every aspect from resolving land disputes, minor trials to declaration of war.

Men engage each other in a game of wits whether you are rich or poor – the real measure of a man is only that he has a house (family).

Mr Deputy President, you suggested that there are people in Kenya running the “Injili ya Shetani (gospel of the devil); that unless your father was a minister, a vice president or a president, however hard you work, you must remain poor and if not, you must be corrupt and have stolen, they should know that those without godfathers have God the Father, Shindwe”.

The greatest impediment to a Mr Ruto presidency in 2022 is not Kenyans or his competitors. Henry David Thoreau rightly observed that “if you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.

Now put the foundations under them… what does it profit a man to succeed from time to time but fail in the long run?

The deputy president ranted and raved after an Ipsos survey said he was perceived as the most corrupt leader in the country. That: “the constant, perennial and unending headlines about William Ruto this, William Ruto that, opinion polls this, corruption the other is sponsored by my competitors.”

Political advisors

If your competitors can sponsor a survey to finish you politically, what do your highly paid strategists, communication team, public relations gurus, political advisors and firefighters do from morning to evening?

Maybe they need to be paid more or get fired. The vicissitudes of high office require that you should surround yourself with some of the best and brightest team in the land – whose agenda and motto is “Results Matter Most.”

To worsen an already bad situation, the deputy president had Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru over at his residence. It is not clear if this had been planned long before.

But supposing it was done hastily, would it be that the strategy was to create a siege mentality and help yoke themselves up into a RutoGuru Camaraderie for 2022, akin to the UhuRuto phenomenon of 2013 created by the burden of the International Criminal Court.

Chinua Achebe, one of Africa’s most significant writers said that “all art is propaganda, though not all propaganda is art.” The statement has the terseness and cogency we have come to associate with our time.

It sets before us a truth about art that is often obscured by theories which fail to take account of the elementary fact that all forms of artistic expression must have reference to human life and consciousness if they are to take on any significance.

The deputy president has been consorting with the least strategic minds in his quest for power. There is nobody or any group burning the midnight oil, planning William Ruto’s political future. Therein lies the problem.

Mr Chesang is a historian.