How can an unelected man who boasts of obscure academic credentials and has no formal office hold so much sway in the corridors of power for so long?
From media stories like this one below, Farouk Kibet literally runs President Ruto’s State House and government even though his job as PA to the President is very limited by normal standards but with this government there are no normal standards for anything.
No other figure in the William Ruto administration evokes as much fear, reverence and palpable awe as Farouk Teigut Kibet, the President’s personal assistant and an enigmatic character some have dubbed Kenya’s co-president.
A master at statecraft, Kibet has emerged as the President’s most potent tool, a formidable behemoth whose word is law and who rides roughshod across the gilded State House corridors, taking no prisoners and spelling out the government’s objectives in no uncertain terms.
Since Ruto ascended to power, Kibet has gradually become the embodiment of state power, appearing to be directly behind all the government’s stratagems, his skills in mobilization and running the show coming in handy in an obviously calamitous administration.
Many who have spoken about the man have compared him to Nicholas Biwott, the so-called ‘Total Man’ who bestrode the Moi era with unchecked power and rattling veneration, becoming such a fabled figure, his lore still rattles the streets decades after the ignominous collapse of the KANU regime.
Like Biwott before him, Kibet has proficiently fashioned himself as the man who ultimately has the President’s ear – and the man whose edicts all must acquiesce to; a man who does not just run the show but a man who, really, is the show.
At a past public rally, Kimani Ichung’wa said of Farouk: “You may be seeing a simple village man. Someone who played football here and became a councillor. But go to Nairobi, and you will know who Farouk Kibet is. In fact, go to State House, you will know who Farouk is. If he decides to close the doors, you are not going in, including Ministers… “
Online, videos continue to emerge showing the President’s PA in his unquestionable element, running the show, publicly throwing himself into situations and dragging senior leaders around, his royal impatience looming large.
On April 8, yet another video made rounds on X, showing the President’s PA throwing himself into a chaotic group of leaders and security officers before being seen quickly – and grimly – shepherding CS John Mbadi from the red carpet, as both stormed off in a frenzied scene characterised by much havoc.
Armed with a steely stare and an unflinching resolve, Farouk Kibet remains solidly in charge of all State affairs, and even though he doesn’t take time to directly address his detractors, the mere mention of his chilling name will continue to confound both friend and foe for as long as William Ruto remains in power.
Now on my part, a month and a half ago I wrote a piece about this monster called Farouk Kibet because I have known about his politics from the 2007/8 massacres in Kenya which led to Kenyan politicians being taken to the ICC court for massacres and crimes against humanity in Kenya.
Farouk Kibet’s main job then was to make sure that all the half living victims of the massacres and the witnesses meant to go to the ICC were all murdered and they all disappeared particularly in Uasin Gishu. How a man with that record and reputation becomes the PA to President Ruto and the most powerful man in his government probably says more about the president than Kibet.
Read: I am The most Educated President and I Have a Little Illiterate Boy Running My Government
The tough issue here for the Broad Based Government is whether ODM and their leader Raila Odinga will be comfortable working with Farouk Kibet whose record of human rights abuses they know very well.
Many supporters of ODM and those who know and respect the work of Raila Odinga as a human rights leader in Kenya would be very uncomfortable with that.
At some point someone like Raila has to go to President Ruto directly probably in private and tell him that he needs to get rid of Kibet pushing everybody around and if he wants to keep him it should be a private business between the two of them. How that works nobody knows.
The good news for Ruto and the Broad Based Government is that there is virtually no credible opposition in Kenya politics today. All Kenyans can see are individuals claiming to be opposition leaders who are craving for publicity in the media and that is all they want. It is just sad.
The latest spectacle of that was with former UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala. and Rigathi Gachagua all over the media.
Cleophas Malala invaded the school where the schools staging the National Drama Festival in Nakuru are practicing and he demanded to be allowed to go and train Butere Girls High School students who are staging a show called “Echoes of War” and Malala claims he wrote that play for the Butere Girls High School and now he wanted to go in to train them how to do the play.
I know one or two things about acting on plays at high school level. It is very intense and often you have to change clothes to look like the character you are supposed to be. It amazes me that this grown man and a politician wants to go and mix with schools girls aged between 16 to18 years to train them. Is Malala a teacher at Butere Girls High School? Is he the school principal? None of that. Why the heck would he want to go to these young girls private space ati to train them? It is just sick.
So the DCI stops this insane character from invading the private space of Butere Girls students and all of a sudden it is the greatest news for the so called Kenyan opposition whose obsession Kenyans know very well now.
” I am being arrested by Ruto police”. ” My life is in Danger”. “My security has been withdrawn”. And so on they scream and Kenyans are getting bored with their nonsense. They don’t even have any opposition political party to speak of so maybe this is the only thing they can do. Good for them and good for Ruto.
So here here is their latest nonsense all the way up from their demi-god. Very confused people.
Shameful! Gachagua Condemns Alleged Plot to Arrest Malala over Echoes of War School Play
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has condemned the chaos witnessed in Nakuru today as security agencies reportedly attempted to arrest former UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala.
Taking to his social media account, Gachagua said the use of the criminal justice system to suppress creativity and social audit has reached alarming proportions.
“It is a shame of unimaginable proportion that dozens of DCI detectives in five vehicles have been dispatched to arrest and intimidate Senator Cleophas Malala for writing a script that has won its way to the National Drama Festival in Nakuru,” Gachagua said.
Malala’s satirical piece, Echoes of War, which earned a spot at the National Drama Festival in Nakuru, is now at the center of a political storm.
According to Gachagua, what is happening to Malala is a blatant misuse of state power to silence a literary voice.
“The satirical play, Echoes of War, is innocent in itself in the literary universe, just to explain to those who feel threatened. In any case, the detectives will harass the messenger, but the message remains; this action only creates more awareness of the literary piece and the message,” Gachagua said.
The former DP said instead of intimidation, the government should embrace critical voices and recognise the role of art in holding power to account.
He added that harassing creatives is a short-sighted move that ultimately backfires, as the message endures and resonates even louder.
Earlier, the former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala claimed he had been arrested by the DCI as he prepared Butere Girls High School learners for Thursday’s presentation of the play.
In a video clip circulated online, the former UDA Secretary General is seen in a standoff with police officers led by a man he said was the Nakuru area DCIO outside Kirobon Girls High School in Nakuru, the host of the National Drama Festivals.
Adongo Ogony is a Kenyan Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
