Is DP Ruto an unassailable frontrunner or mere pacesetter?

DP William Ruto (left) share jokes with one of his supporters during a rally at Allidina, Jomvu, in Mombasa County. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Friday’s mammoth crowds witnessed in his Eldoret town home turf according a hero’s welcome to ODM leader Raila Odinga – one of his key political rivals – notwithstanding, Deputy President William Ruto has a lot to smile about over the past week.      

Besides countering Friday’s “political invasion” in his backyard with a similarly good reception in Mombasa and Kwale counties – Raila’s strongholds for nearly two decades – the DP registered exceptional performance in Thursday’s by-election in Makueni County, where his preferred candidate emerged second ahead of Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Party candidate.