As Ruto rose, fueled by murima political calculations — or miscalculations — as it has turned out; there were no questions asked as to what will happen when he comes too close to power. Will they be able to stop him?
The spectacular collapse of all attempts to stop Ruto in 2022 had to do with the manner in which the Kikuyu built Ruto up.
By 2010, whereas Raila Odinga, even as Prime Minister, was still largely treated as a pariah in Central Kenya, Ruto had been embraced by Mt. Kenya and allowed to make inroads in the region; including visiting Othaya, and being hosted by President Kibaki himself!
The Kenyattas moved all in, from Mama Ngina to the grandchildren! It paid off as the lazy and ever sloshed Uhuru rose to power.
This Kikuyu embrace of Ruto had all to do with the desperation to derail and defeat Raila Odinga and the Luos.
The election of 2012 was moved to 2013 to add more months for the Kalenjin-Kikuyu alliance to firm up.
The vast majority of Kalenjins initially embraced the Ruto-Kikuyu alliance grudgingly. It was to them that the election had to be moved by several months into 2013 as persuading the Kalenjin to embrace the Kikuyu proved very difficult.
During this period, elders were flown to Mombasa for weeks. Blood rituals were conducted. Women groups amassed state funding in ‘table banking’. Mt. Kenya politicians poured millions in rift valley harambees. Prayer rallies worked magic on atavistic religious sensibilities. Ruto used the period to make loads of cash; as well as entrench a few Kalenjins in core posts, deputizing the Kikuyus holding the helm. Parastatals and security sector became a Kikuyu-Kalenjin affair.
In the end, however, it was the ICC which provided a stronger adhesive.
Throughout the period Ruto was exiting ODM, the treatment he received from murima was the same treatment Sifuna is receiving today.
Extreme anti-Luo and anti-Raila posture gave murima their “Mtu wa Mungu” in 2022.
I do not know what adjectives the region is using to describe Sifuna or Matiangi or Kalonzo or whoever they want to embrace today but it seems history is repeating itself.
The source of murima anger is still the same. In their dislocative jingoistic politics, they still see the imaginary Luo enemy.
Today, the entire Kikuyu political calculation is to remove the Luo from government more than they want to remove Ruto from power.
“Adui ya mkikuyu wa kwanza ni wajaluo…adui si ata Ruto…hapana…ni hawa watu wa sweater…”
The Luo party, ODM, is still the party to destroy.
They are still willing to embrace ODM leaders wrecking the ODM party rather than embrace the party at its core (this will mean embracing Luos, but then the oath…).
Raila Odinga may be absent from the scene but even in death, you still hear Gachagua attack him.
I have always argued that unless the Kikuyu correct their worldview on the Luo, they will keep embracing those posturing as their allies against Luos but it will still wreck them when they realize those very people they are putting in power to help them sort out the ‘Luo problem’ are themselves not rabid anti-Luos.
The Kikuyu voted for Ruto (the small saitan) because they couldn’t embrace Raila (the big saitan). They deluded themselves that Ruto will help extend their bigoted hate into the third decade of the 21st century.
The problem is that Raila was not a saitan but an angel. Raila Odinga was the greatest friend of the Kikuyu from among the Luo. But they pak’ad Baba matope mingi to the extent that they could not see the leader in him.
On the contrary, Ruto, and the Kalenjins by extension, did not share in the Kikuyu hate/bigotry for Raila/Luos.
Ruto benefited from this hate/bigotry but did not author it and was not going to perpetuate it.
President Ruto’s fallout with that imbecilic primitive tribalist called Gachagua started when he (Ruto) showed signs of not following the mindless path of hate, bigotry and the use of the presidency to economically marginalize the Luo; which Gachagua and his other equally primitive, imbecilic tribal minions had demanded of Rais Ruto.
Kikuyu leaders like Senator Methu had become too boastful, telling government agencies to openly discriminate against Luos seeking government loans.
Ruto was being told to not appoint Luo officials, including those most qualified and just a heart-beat to the zenith of their careers.
Ruto was being told to do nothing in Luo Nyanza. To leave it the way he found it.
Ruto’s embrace of Luos was always going to create problems between him and the primitive Kikuyu tribalists.
This was the same reason the same Kikuyu primitive tribalists abandoned President Uhuru in 2018.
I have always challenged anyone to fetch any moment before March 9, 2018 and get me any audio, video or print where Mt. Kenya leaders and people were opposed to Uhuru.
Uhuru had just come from murder spree in Kisumu and during this period, Mt. Kenya had backed and cheered him kill Luo babies.
There was no remorse. No pastor or bishop came out to condemn the killings in Kisumu in 2017. Kikuyu churches were muted on human rights abuses.
The Damascus moment in 2018 shocked and infuriated Mt. Kenya to the bones.
Uhuru embracing Raila in particular, and Luos in general, was too much an about-turn to accept.
“Maliza uende” era now beckoned. Suddenly Uhuru was getting everything wrong. Suddenly the economy was doing badly.
I have once again painted to you this long chapter in our recent history to warn the Luo, particularly, of mistaking a hyena for a domestic dog.
Any Luo leader who deludes himself/herself that he can be embraced by the primitive Kikuyu tribalist (current DCP adherents) who now form the core of Kikuyu politics is WASTING their TIME.
The only Luos who will be embraced will be the sellouts — traitors who’ve accepted their inferior status as a permanent underclass to the Kikuyu.
The better approach, a win-win approach; is to first demand [that] the Kikuyu must DE-oath.
The problem is the oath. The 1969 oath. The oath dislocated the Kikuyu by giving them a permanent enemy in the Luo.
The oath has made Luo children yet to be born hated by Kikuyu children yet to be born. A very sad occurrence.
Whereas the Luo have tolerated this situation for long, this generation of Luos demand the end of the oath.
We are willing to build a new base for a future alliance with the Kikuyu, but the total rejection of the 1969 OATH must come first.
The Kikuyu will face many political difficulties ahead if they do not heed to this advice and de-oath.
The first difficulty is in 2027 when they will fail to remove Ruto from power.
The oath put Moi in power in 1978 but could not remove him from power. The oath put Ruto in power in 2022 but will not remove him from power.
As for the Luo politician who delude himself that he can be embraced while the oath still stands as the “organizing principle” of Kikuyilu politics, again wekuru ketho sau…okbitimore yaye!!!
Part three loading…LOL.
Dikembe Disembe is a Political Researcher and Writer
