Is there too much Ruto at President Kenyatta’s side?

By MAKAU MUTUA

Posted  Saturday, April 13  2013 at  17:13

IN SUMMARY

• If the International Criminal Court is right, the two funded death squads to kill, maim, and loot each other’s folks. Mr Ruto only subordinated himself to Mr Kenyatta because he couldn’t win on his own. Nor did he have good options after falling out with ODM’s Raila Odinga.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Nowhere is this truer than with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. In every picture I’ve seen since the March 4 elections, Mr Ruto is right behind — or beside — Mr Kenyatta.

It seems that Mr Ruto has become a fixture at Mr Kenyatta’s side. It’s either that, or the media has conspired to only publish pictures of the duo together. This is particularly true when Mr Kenyatta is meeting key local, or foreign, political honchos.

But I’m no conspiracy theorist. In the photos, Mr Ruto is wide-eyed with ears perked up like a peacock. Do the pictures tell a larger story? How long can the duo co-exist?

Methinks I know what’s going on. But let me take you down memory lane so you can appreciate this vignette. Legend has it that the late Mbiyu Koinange, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s right hand and bosom buddy, never left the Burning Spear’s side. But there’s more. Minister Koinange — the first black Kenyan to obtain a degree — apparently always slept alone.

The legend is that Mr Koinange was afraid he would dream out loud and reveal to his wife “state secrets” that Mzee had told him. Mr Koinange was utterly and completely devoted to Mzee. He was Mzee’s age-mate, side-kick, and most trusted confidante. They were yoked by tradition. Can the same be said of Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta?

There’s no doubt that the Kenyatta-Koinange relationship was the diametric opposite of the Uhuru-Ruto “partnership”. First, unlike Mr Koinange and Mzee, Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta are rivals for power. Their political marriage — born of necessity and convenience — shouldn’t be mistaken for “love at first sight”.

Subordinated himself

If the International Criminal Court is right, the two funded death squads to kill, maim, and loot each other’s folks. Mr Ruto only subordinated himself to Mr Kenyatta because he couldn’t win on his own. Nor did he have good options after falling out with ODM’s Raila Odinga.

Only a victorious partnership with Mr Kenyatta — a fellow ICC indictee — could possibly save the pair from The Hague. It was a strategic alliance.

Mr Koinange wasn’t a threat to Mzee Kenyatta. The two were linked by marriage – Mzee was Mr Koinange’s brother-in-law.

Mr Ruto doesn’t share such relations with Mr Kenyatta, let alone social class or ethnic ancestry. In contrast, Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta come from worlds apart. The former is of peasant origin while the latter is a “prince”.

Mr Ruto deeply covets the presidency, the ultimate prize. He’s shown no compunction about doing anything to get there. That’s why he’ll watch Mr Kenyatta’s every move to make sure he’s neither betrayed, nor shortchanged. That explains his vigilance in the pictures, and why he’s keeping a close eye on Mr Kenyatta. There’ll be no daylight between them.

The second reason Mr Ruto will keep a hawk’s eye on Mr Kenyatta is because of the history of political betrayals in Kenya. I’m sure Mr Ruto is aware of the MoU between Mwai Kibaki’s NAK and Mr Odinga’s LDP.

Mr Odinga received the short end of that stick. That’s something Mr Ruto will want to avoid between his URP and Mr Kenyatta’s TNA. Mr Ruto was witness to how Mr Kenyatta body-slammed UDF’s Musalia Mudavadi after agreeing — in writing — to step down for him.

Mr Kenyatta didn’t miss a beat as he left a forlorn and jilted Mr Mudavadi at the altar. Finally, Mr Ruto will beware how President Kibaki marginalised Mr Odinga in the coalition government.

Third, political MoUs come asunder over ungoverned ambition, a trait both Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto share. Each will be under pressure from his party and “ethnic constituency” to deliver “chakula”. Neither can afford to look weak-kneed or cheated. Mr Ruto will claim — rightly — that he’s the “kingmaker”.

A 50-50 deal

This is the Sword of Damocles he holds over Mr Kenyatta. The problem is that Mr Kenyatta agreed to a 50-50 deal. That’s an impossible slice for a president to concede. My crystal ball tells me that Mr Kenyatta will recalibrate how to divide the cookie. I’ve no doubt Mr Ruto won’t get his due share. Take this to the bank — power-sharing will be the bane of their relationship.

Fourth, Mr Ruto has been known to wreck political marriages. Talk of biting the finger that feeds you. You know how Mr Ruto turned against former President Daniel arap Moi, his political godfather.

Barely out of his “political diapers”, the man from Eldoret rudely kicked Mr Moi to the curb and supplanted himself as the Kalenjin kingpin. Then he cannibalised Mr Odinga when he sensed that Jaramogi’s son was about to betroth and “steal” the Kalenjin from him.

Don’t forget how he toyed with Cord’s Kalonzo Musyoka, and then joyously joined Mr Kenyatta for a humiliating take-down of the man from Tseikuru. In short, Mr Ruto is cold, calculating and ruthless.

I end where I started. Sooner than later, you’ll see fewer and fewer pictures of Mr Ruto “stalking” Mr Kenyatta. That’s because Mr Kenyatta will balk at the image that his is a co-presidency with Mr Ruto.

Mr Kenyatta will shake off the clingy Mr Ruto and stamp the presidency with his own authority. That’s inevitable, and really unarguable. It’s what I would do if I was Mr Kenyatta.

But that’s also what will infuriate Mr Ruto. My view is that the clock of their divorce will start ticking then. The question is, how soon?

Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC. Twitter @makaumutu
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