Why Uhuru Kenyatta's re-emergence is giving Ruto's team a big headache

The seeming gradual resurgence of former President Uhuru Kenyatta's popularity among ordinary Kenyans appears to be creating nervous butterflies in President William Ruto's stomach and worry within his broad-based government.

His partners in the entity are today brooding over the role Uhuru may play in the lead-up to the 2027 presidential elections after experiencing several warm receptions that the former president has received at various public gatherings.

At the height of the 2022 General Election, Uhuru was shunned by the masses following his acrimonious fallout with his then deputy, Ruto, who enjoyed significant influence in Uhuru's Mt Kenya backyard.

Uhuru's decision to back the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as his successor, sidelining Ruto, and his championing of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI)—a largely unpopular call to review the Constitution and expand government—compounded his woes, further fanning backlash across the country.

Ruto exploited Uhuru’s unpopularity by labelling him as a man from a privileged family with strong links to dynasties that had perpetuated state capture. He also accused his boss of enriching himself at the expense of development in the Mt Kenya region and ultimately swayed the masses in his favour, which helped him secure a resounding victory at the polls.

But with one year to the 2027 General Election, Uhuru’s fortunes have changed as he has become a darling of the people, evidenced by the warm reception he received during the burial of the late Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo and during the consecration and installation of Rt. Rev. Peter Kimani as Embu Diocese bishop.

The rousing reception he received during Raila's requiem mass also drew the attention of political pundits and those present, among them regional leaders. Some even argued that with Raila gone, the Nyanza political compass might soon point in Uhuru’s direction.

That, coupled with his growing stature in the international community, has moulded Uhuru into the Kenya Kwanza administration’s biggest nightmare as 2027 draws closer.

During last month’s peace agreement signing between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), spearheaded by United States President Donald Trump at the White House, Felix Tshisekedi hailed Uhuru’s role as a mediator.

“I want to specially thank former President Uhuru Kenyatta for his efforts to restore peace in Congo. His efforts are part of the reasons we are here today,” said Tshisekedi.

And as a testament to his emergence as a prominent figure on the African continent, Uhuru on Friday graced the 2025 Future Africa Leaders Awards in Lagos, where he hailed Africa’s youth as the continent’s greatest asset and emphasised the importance of leadership grounded in integrity, service, and vision. He was joined by Wiper leader and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

But President Ruto’s allies have since dismissed the former Head of State, accusing him of refusing to leave the stage now that he is retired. They also say he has failed to rise to the stature of a statesman and is actively involved in day-to-day politics.

Claims by some leaders in the broad-based coalition that Uhuru is seeking to sow discord within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to take over Raila’s party have not helped matters, although Uhuru has dismissed the talk as sheer nonsense.

“When you serve for ten years and retire, that elevates you to a statesman and a father figure for the country. But his continuous endeavours to get involved in the day-to-day politics of the country reduce him to that stature he ought to hold. Unfortunately, when I look at President Uhuru Kenyatta, I see a man who is yet to heal from the loss of the 2022 elections. I urge him to heal,” said Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Kimani Ichung’wah.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome also told Uhuru that although they hold him in high regard, it was time he stayed at home to provide advice on unity as a country, but not get involved in politics. “He should be a statesman,” stated Wahome earlier this week.

ODM Secretary-General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has, however, come to the former President’s defence, saying President Ruto and his allies want to divert attention by targeting Uhuru as he and some ODM leaders auction the party to destroy the opposition.

Speaking on Tuesday during the burial of former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, Sifuna was wildly cheered when he apologised to Uhuru over insults directed at him by some ODM leaders, acknowledging the role Uhuru played in supporting the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

“Today, they want to cut off the hand that fed them. Because the party has both wise and foolish members, I want, on behalf of the foolish ones, to apologise for the insults directed at you. If there was ever a day the ODM party did not say thank you, today I want to say, as Secretary-General of ODM, thank you for standing by Baba (Raila Odinga),” Sifuna said.

Uhuru kept nodding as Sifuna showered him with accolades, further recalling that Raila had frequently highlighted Uhuru’s loyalty, describing him as one of his few true friends—hence the respect that the party's rank and file still have for him.

The apology came days after top ODM leaders, including chairperson Governor Wanga and Minority Leader in the National Assembly Junet Mohamed, claimed Uhuru was plotting to use insiders within the party to cause internal divisions.

Speaking in the presence of President William Ruto in Homa Bay County last Sunday, Wanga said that while she respects Uhuru, he must also keep off the affairs of the party.

“We have respect for President Uhuru Kenyatta. However, if you want to destroy the ODM Party by sending wheeler-dealers to us, then we reject your plans. We will not take that matter lightly, as we will deal with it perpendicularly,” Wanga warned.

Uhuru first faced his worst political experience in the lead-up to the 2022 General Election, but has since morphed into becoming the darling of the political class and the electorate, who once dismissed him as mlevi (drunkard), throwing at him names such as Jayden (to illustrate a spoilt child) and others such as Wamashati due to his stylish Kenyan-made shirts.

President Ruto, then Uhuru’s deputy between 2013 and 2022, accused Uhuru and the entire Kenyatta family of stealing public resources, reducing the 2022 General Election to a hustler-versus-dynasty contest, while former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused the family of grabbing land that should have been distributed to Mau Mau war veterans.

But after the 2022 General Election, both Gachagua and Ruto separately sought to secure appointments with Uhuru, whom they abruptly described as a statesman, astute reconciliator, and peacemaker—what political pundits say was a strategy to seek political approval after falling out with the electorate over unkept promises.

After falling out with Ruto, Gachagua in May last year sought Uhuru’s unequivocal apology for his political onslaught against the Kenyatta family, saying he regretted his insults and outbursts against the former First Family.

At the time, Gachagua warned Ruto and his allies against attacking Uhuru, speaking of an equal response should the attacks persist, as he declared that the time had come for him to personally shield and defend Uhuru from further political assault.

“Starting today, I shall protect and stand by my brother Uhuru Kenyatta. President Ruto, you came to this mountain with a Bible in hand and fed us lies. You told us that Uhuru was a drunkard, that he was lazy, and that he was sabotaging his own administration. You did not just lie to me, but you deceived all of us. Even the people in the church believed you.”

He added: “We rebuked our own son. We humiliated our own leader. We shamed him publicly because we trusted your words—only to come to the painful realisation that you, William Ruto, are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Despite attacking Uhuru as the main sponsor and financier of the 2023 Azimio protests and allegedly partnering with external forces to destabilise his administration, Ruto on December 9 ran to Uhuru at his Ichaweri Gatundu home amid the Gen Z onslaught, whose members accused his administration of incompetence, wanton corruption, and extrajudicial killings.

In what marked the first public interaction between the two leaders since their high-profile fall-out ahead of the 2022 General Election, Ruto praised Uhuru for his exemplary statesmanship during the peaceful transition of power following the polls, as well as his ongoing commitment to national progress.

“President Ruto took the opportunity to reiterate his appreciation and commendation of His Excellency President Kenyatta’s statesmanship in overseeing the peaceful transfer of power after the 2022 elections,” read a statement released by State House at the time.

Ruto praised Uhuru for laying a strong foundation that has supported the implementation of key initiatives under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

On August 1, 2024, Uhuru was back at State House for a meeting of the EAC–SADC co-chairs with the Panel of Facilitators for the DRC peace process, in a video that was later distributed by Ruto’s allies and bloggers, insinuating that there was a political pact between the two leaders.

Just like his predecessors, Uhuru left office unpopular, but later the very politicians who incited the electorate against him wanted to have a piece of him, with political analysts saying that leaders’ track records are usually recognised long after they leave the political scene.

During the 2002 elections, the second President, the late Daniel Moi, was among leaders who the Narc political wing kept bashing. Long after retiring, however, politicians—including his successor Mwai Kibaki—flocked to seek his wise counsel, a scenario that later repeated itself with Kibaki after leaving office.

Former Gatanga MP Nduati Ngugi said Uhuru’s proven track record speaks for itself but could not be recognised in the 2022 General Election due to political waves and sloganeering manufactured to overshadow development projects initiated by Uhuru.

“Instead of us MPs who served under Jubilee being judged by our development agenda, we were ousted because we were not politically correct. But politics are changing, and Kenyans can now compare the two administrations. In 2027, Uhuru’s influence will dictate the political way forward,” the former legislator noted.

Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni said, “The 2027 General Election will not be determined by empty rhetoric but by comparison of projects between the Jubilee and the Kenya Kwanza governments. We shall criss-cross the country as we engage our people, reminding them of what the Jubilee administration did, for them to judge.”

While Kioni said it was the people who had asked for Uhuru, saying they were sorry for not listening to his advice in the 2022 General Election, he cautioned Uhuru against relying on political brokers.

“In 2022, he relied on some political brokers who led to the late Raila Odinga being defeated. He has a higher responsibility to avoid brokers who may create a wedge between him and his loyalists,” Kioni said.