By Manase Nyainda (As posted on his Facebook profile)

At one point during their first term, President Uhuru Kenyatta met Mt. Kenya MPs and Senators at a joint parliamentary group meeting at State House and instructed them to channel all their grievances to Deputy President William Ruto.

Little did he know that he was slowly consummating his eternal detachment from the realities and perceptions of the people of Kikuyu Nation, which would later come to haunt him in form of a revolt at a critical juncture of his fading presidency. In his usual fashion, William took that opportunity to connect with the MPs and Senators who would further cascade his ambitions – thinly veiled as launching of development projects – down to the people of Mt. Kenya.

He was severally commissioned by Uhuru to represent him during religious, cultural, development and even political functions and, therefore, learned and understood the plight of the last man in Mt. Kenya.

Since he was there for the people of Mt. Kenya when Uhuru was busy quaffing Jameson or attending to other urgent and important state duties, the people of Mt. Kenya got emotionally attached to him.

It is just the same way a random man can show up for your woman at her lowest moment, accord her constant attention when you are busy drinking with friends in clubs and end up stroking her. And that marked the beginning of the current revolt.

It is rumoured that during their first term, Uhuru gave William a cart blanche to oversee the day to day running of government. It is during this period that he planted his henchmen in strategic and lucrative positions in government, and literary influenced every policy decision and direction of the government.

Even the President’s retinue of aides had been recruited into William’s stooge camp. The then State House Comptroller Lawrence Lenayapa, Private Secretary Jomo Gecaga and PSCU from Munyori Buku down were at his service.

After the 2017 president elections, Uhuru suddenly woke up from his drunken stupor, only to find that the government had been Rutonized top-down and so the process of disinfection began in earnest.

The first step was to get rid of Lenayapa and replace him with Kinuthia Mbugua, a career administrator who was tasked with streamlining the operations at State House.

The first casualties when everyone was asked to retreat to their designated offices, were the mischief makers, lobbyists, challengers, provocateurs and damage control journalists in PSCU who didn’t have an office.

Any idler, absorbed into the presidency by the virtue of their participation in the 2013 and 2017 presidential campaigns, were moved to the OP at Harambee Complex.

The restructuring of PSCU began, and was taken over Kanze Dena. The defunct axis of Buku Munyori, Dennis Itumbi, Eric Ng’eno, David Nzioka, and Josphat Kinyua, which still drew its salary from Public Service Commission until its dismissal vide Matiang’i’s order, trooped to Ruto’s Harambee Annex.

In the long run, the next victim would be Jomo Gecaga, axed from his position of Private Secretary, and effectively ceazed controlling the diary of the president for allegedly leaking his itinerary.

And then the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua fully took over the control of government policy direction. But while the administrative wing was sparkling clean, the President immediately forgot the most fundamental business of any government: politics.

And this is where William outmanoeuvred him. In the history of this country, Uhuru is arguably the most inaccessible president with too many aides.

Therefore, the people’s representatives are constantly blocked from meeting him. For most of these MPs, the only thing they want from any president is to drink tea, gossip, do a photo-op and part with some 100k. But when Uhuru became too inaccessible, they found solace in William.

Then came the president’s high-handedness through heavy reliance on the administrative as opposed to the political wing of government. That’s why Karanja Kibicho – the President’s blue-eyed boy – has grown powerful by the guns but dismally performs when popular will is at play. Instead of convincing people, he so much adores thorax and there’s no worst person to threaten than a Kenyan.

When you choose force over persuasion, you lose the legitimacy to transact any business with the public.

The BBI signature collection by chiefs and sidelining of politicians; the militarisation of Nairobi County; the military takeover of key parastatals; over reliance on police during by-elections; threats, intimidation and arbitrary arrests of legislators by the DCI and the general sign of middle finger from the bureaucrats to the people’s representatives are just a tip of the iceberg of Uhuru’s streak of mistakes.

And then came the bogeyman himself. For the people of Mt. Kenya, Raila Odinga is an omnipresent evil, whether in opposition or in government. In opposition, he was a saboteur of economy and on the opposite side with Uhuru, therefore, attracting Mt. Kenya’s love for government.

In government, he is an enabler in the mismanagement of the country and on the same side with Uhuru, hence attracting Mt. Kenya’s massive hate for government. On any side, history has shown that Mt. Kenya will hate Raila; in government or in opposition.

If Uhuru were to ditch Raila now, he would receive heroic welcome in Mt. Kenya and in their eyes, this would be the best government ever. Sadly, that is how logic works there. But the most fundamental question to ask is, what is Uhuru’s interest with Mt.Kenya support and 2022 elections when he is retiring?

Since taking over in 2013, the Kenyatta family’s empire has exponentially grown with NCBA being a signature mark of this expansionist agenda.

However, with Ruto’s known vengeance, this empire stands at risk. And due to the generational disadvantage that makes no other ‘Kenyatta’ suitable for presidency in any foreseeable future, he is keen on midwifing a government that will protect the Kenyatta’s vast economic interests.

For William Ruto, he has amassed so much wealth within government that if he opts out now and loses the immunity that accompanies his position, he is sure that all relevant government agencies will fall on his head and he will never have the war chest to mount any formidable campaign in 2022.

To him, 2022 is about structuring his wealth to give it some semblance of credibly acquired fortune while hiding behind the bottom-up economic approach bullshit to full his hypnotized constituency of vulnerable Kenyans.

For Raila Odinga, it is the reality that leftist politics cannot propel anyone to presidency in a crooked system such ours.

The only way out is pragmatism; let’s get there by any means and then we will explain later how we got there.

For ordinary Kenyans, it is our ass on the line. Hail Wamuchomba!