Is it about Loyalty to the State or Loyalty to Political Party or Loyalty to Individuals? ;The Case of Kenya Elections: Razak Kojo Opoku Writes
First and foremost, it is NEVER TRUE that the ruling Jubilee Party of Kenya under the leadership of Uhuru Kenyatta has Won the 2022 Presidential election of Kenya. William Ruto NEVER contested on the ticket of the Jubilee Party of Kenya headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Uhuru Kenyatta united with William Ruto against Raila Odinga from 2013 to 2021.
Under ODM, Ruto united with Raila Odinga against Uhuru Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki.
From late 2021 to 2022, Uhuru Kenyatta united with Raila Odinga against William Ruto.
If it was in Ghana, Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga and William Ruto would have been perfectly described as Stomach Politicians, Disloyals and Political Prostitutes. Hahahahahaha.
The 2022 Presidential election of Kenya was Won by William Ruto, the Deputy President under *Kenya Kwanza Coalition(Kenya First)*.
The 2022 Presidential election of Kenya was a contest between:
1. *Azimio La Umoja Coalition(Unity Declaration)* made up of Uhuru Kenyatta’s Party(the sitting President), Jubilee Party and Raila Odinga’s Party.
2. *Kenya Kwanza Coalition(Kenya First)* made up of United Democratic Alliance(UDA) founded by William Ruto(the sitting Deputy President) and other smaller parties.
William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta are former allies. Ruto campaigned for Kenyatta during his first attempt at the Presidency in 2002, which he lost. Both William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta were indicted by the International Criminal Court(ICC) as the *suspected masterminds* of the mass atrocities that followed the 2007 disputed elections.
William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta teamed up to contest in the Kenya’s Presidential elections in 2013 and 2017, and won all the two Presidential elections together as Deputy President and President respectively on the ticket of Jubilee Party of Kenya.
*Political Journey of Ruto, Kenyatta and Odinga*
William Ruto was a member of Kenya African National Union(KANU), a political party that ruled Kenya for nearly 40years after Kenya’s independence in 1963 from the British. KANU was defeated in 2002.
William Ruto in 2005 served as the Secretary-General of KANU with his boss Uhuru Kenyatta as Chairman. Later in 2007, Ruto resigned as the Secretary-General of KANU.
From KANU, Ruto joined forces with Raila Odinga to formed Orange Democratic Movement(ODM). The first contest between William Ruto and Raila Odinga occurred on 1st September 2007 during the Presidential Primaries of ODM. The contest was between William Ruto, Raila Odinga and Musalia Mudavadi. After the Presidential Primaries of ODM, Raila Odinga won the contest with 2, 656 votes, Musalia Mudavadi placed second with 391 votes and William Ruto placed third with 368 votes.
William Ruto supported Raila Odinga after the contest for the national Presidential election against Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta’s Party in December 2007.
Uhuru Kenyatta as Chairman of KANU solidly supported Mwai Kibaki and they won the December 2007 national Presidential election but Raila Odinga and William Ruto rejected the results. This resulted in a violent political crisis in Kenya.
Later on an agreement was reached between Mwai Kibaki/Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga/William Ruto to formed a POWER-SHARING GOVERNMENT.
The composition of Mwai Kibaki/Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga/William Ruto’s power-sharing government was as follows:
1. Mwai Kibaki – President
2. Raila Odinga – Prime Minister
3. Uhuru Kenyatta – Deputy Prime Minister/Minister for Finance
4. William Ruto – Minister for Agriculture
This government ruled Kenya between 2008-2012 as a power-sharing government.
In 2013, William Ruto joined forces with Uhuru Kenyatta to formed the Jubilee Alliance(Jubilee Party of Kenya) to contest the national Presidential elections as Deputy President and President respectively. Together, they won the 2013 and 2017 national Presidential elections.
Surprisingly, William Ruto resigned as a member of the ruling Jubilee Party of Kenya and announced his alliance with a newly formed political party known as United Democratic Alliance(UDA). The UDA was linked to politicians allied to William Ruto, a sitting Deputy President. In fact UDA was led by William Ruto as the Founder/Leader with Johnson Muthama and Veronica Maina as Chairman and Secretary-General respectively.
UDA together other smaller political parties joined forces for the 2022 Presidential elections of Kenya under a new platform known as Kenya Kwanza Coalition(Kenya First).
William Ruto picked Rigathi Gachagua as his Running-Mate to contest the 2022 Presidential election of Kenya on the platform of Kenya Kwanza Coalition.
*Why William Ruto Won the 2022 Presidential Elections on the Ticket of Kenya Kwanza Coalition*
The win for William Ruto seems to be a national liberation of Kenyans from the 60years long controlling power of the families of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi and Oginga Odinga.
Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are the sons of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first President and Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first Vice-President respectively.
I think that maybe when Uhuru Kenyatta teamed up with Raila Odinga against William Ruto this time around for the 2022 Presidential election of Kenya angered majority of the people of Kenya and they saw this move as a politically offensive partnership as if the two sons of Jomo Kenyatta and Oginga Odinga want to establish a DYNASTIC POLITICS and ENTITLEMENT in Kenya.
For the past 60years, the political and economic powers of Kenya have been confined around the FAMILIES of:
1. Kenya’s first President namely Jomo Kenyatta and second President Daniel Arap Moi.
2. Oginga Odinga, the first Vice-President of Kenya.
These aforementioned families have been leveraging over State Agencies, Security Apparatus and Exploits State Power to advance commercial interests spread across the entire spectrum of Kenya’s economy and political establishment.
The aforementioned families have been practicing State Capture and Exploiting their powerful control of Kenya to enrich themselves at the detriment of the poor masses of Kenya.
The pivotal to the winning of William Ruto’s campaign was centered on his BOTTOM-UP ECONOMIC MODEL which I think the poor masses of Kenya bought into it.
For Six Decades(60years), 2022 is the first time an outsider who is not a member of the Political Dynasty of the families of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi and Oginga Odinga has won Political Power in Kenya to become President in the person of William Ruto.