Why Uhuru, Ruto friendship was built on quicksand

President Uhuru Kenyatta with Deputy President William Ruto at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly before the Head of State left for South Africa on January 11,2018. [PSCU]

The relationship between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto has been a mixture of betrayal and duplicity.

It dates back to 2005 when Ruto abandoned Uhuru to co-found ODM with Raila Odinga.

Although the DP’s allies now claim their man is a victim of betrayal, history shows the friendship between the two has been founded on quicksand such that whenever an opportunity for greener pastures presents itself, neither places a premium on their previous engagements.

After backing Uhuru’s presidency in 2002, 2013 and 2017, Ruto today finds himself in the middle of a bitter political divorce. Some of DP’s allies say they don’t understand why the relationship has gone south.

“We are all surprised. We don’t know where all this anger is coming from. I want to urge President Kenyatta to retrace his steps, and see where we have come from,” former Senate Majority leader, Kipchumba Murkomen said  in the wake of his dismissal.

However, as they say, politics is all about interests.

Although a Kanu life member and party Secretary General, Ruto quit the independence party that was smarting from its 2002 electoral defeat to Mwai Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) and joined ODM, on whose ticket he won the Eldoret North parliamentary seat.

He would also serve as Deputy Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition Government after the 2007 General Election. 

The disputed 2007 presidential election and the post-election violence that followed would put Uhuru and Ruto on the opposing sides before fate brought them together as they fought crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court.

It was an ironic twist of fate for Uhuru and Ruto, who at the height of the post-election violence, could not see eye to eye.

However, they would found a friendship courtesy of their shared predicament which culminated in the formation of Jubilee Party.

In an address after their party won in 2013 polls, Ruto’s speech was laced with fond memories of the long journey he had travelled with President Kenyatta.

He acknowledged that their friendship was not always rosy, hinting at the 2007 events that almost made him delete Uhuru’s number form his phone.

“When I met Uhuru Kenyatta I think 12 years ago, he gave me his number. And I saved his number and if you check my phone, his number is saved as FP. I have his two numbers; FP 1 and FP 2. FP was then abbreviation for ‘future president.’ 

“In 2007, I was tempted to change the number but somehow I didn’t. My friend, now I will have to change it from FP, and I will do it today, because the future is now here,” Ruto said.

He continued: “Your excellency the president-elect of the Republic of Kenya, this afternoon, I’m lost for words. For us to get to where we are today, I can only say God did it for us. God turned every hurdle into a bridge and turned every challenge into an opportunity.

“Our victory today is in all forms the definition of a miracle. It doesn’t matter how you look at it. And we want to thank God and dedicate this victory to him.

“I have not doubt this coalition, under the leadership of my friend Uhuru Kenyatta, will deliver every pledge and discharge every promise. I’m very confident we will live up to what we have promised this country.”

Today, however, the DP is having to reconcile himself with his past friendship with President Kenyatta and the fact that the Jubilee house, which they built together is crumbling.