The last two months have seen the national government convene two high level meetings with farmers in tea and coffee growing zones, their leaders, and stakeholders (from the two sectors) in an attempt to make tea and coffee farming profitable to local farmers.
The June 8-10 Coffee Reforms Conference in Meru and the just concluded Tea Summit in Kericho saw close to 1 million small holder farmers, their Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), Members of Parliament (MPs), Senators and Governors converge on the Deputy President’s instructions and leadership to come up with working policies to turn around their fortunes.
Each administration, from independence, has had its primary enforcer, and for President Ruto, it is Rigathi Gachagua.
Across the world it has been proven that the best deputy presidential choices are drawn from the ranks of strong leaders who go against the grain to win elections.
In Kenya, especially after the passage of 2010 Constitution it became critical that the choice of a running mate could determine whether a Presidential Candidate wins or loses an election. They must boost a flag bearer’s political force and lend extra flamboyance to the campaign.
President William Ruto must have been aware of the above when he picked Gachagua – a first time Mathira MP as his running mate on 15th May, 2022. Rigathi – whilst still a first time MP – inspired his Mt. Kenya base to vote for William Ruto against a historical expectation that they would follow Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s political direction.
He has since then cut a figure of a solid Deputy President with no qualms about challenging the status quo to ensure the Kenya Kwanza administration sustains its political supremacy.
The Deputy President’s force can be felt across the country, especially as he confronts previously untouchable personalities and institutions head-on, and he is rapidly establishing the brand and profile of a no-nonsense government and political administrator who will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to ensure the ‘system’ delivers what is promised by his Boss; whatever the consequences to himself.
A key element of this force is his communications ability. As was plainly apparent during the 2022 presidential campaigns the Deputy President is a strategic and master communicator and he has maintained his direct, open and no holds-barred speaking technique which, ironically, is can be confused with simplistic random man-on-the-street comments, but which present complex issues in a way ordinary Kenyans associate with.
He is able to articulate challenges in their simplest form whilst leaving people speaking about what was previously difficult to explain, as the message gets home.
He has also presented himself quite bravely as a man completely devoid of any personal agenda of his own by ensuring that in every engagement he makes it clear that his duty as DP is to deliver what is in his Boss’s interest. This makes him President Ruto’s Primary Enforcer ; political or otherwise.
In the last administration, it was Interior CS Dr. Fred Matiangi who played the exact role for President Uhuru Kenyatta, after falling out with his then Deputy, William Ruto.
