Emotions are powerful dynamos during an election and can sway voters’ opinions and decisions. This is a verity President William Ruto understood during his campaigns and brazenly used to connect with the voters, especially those in Mt Kenya, on a deeper level.
He knew, like any other canny politician, that bringing forth emotions such as fear, hope, and anger in a vulnerable population with little to no time to interrogate his manifesto, would make his campaign resonate with a majority of the group – and it did.
Proclamations such as ”Mara hii, tutaunda serikali ya mtu mdogo, hawa mama mboga na mtu wa boda boda,” were among the many lies repeatedly sold by William Ruto to the masses, making him earn the moniker ‘Chief Hustler.’
However, less than a year into his presidency, it is only the Chief Hustler, his henchmen, and their spouses swimming in a pool of cash for personal use plus luxury, while the country’s real hustlers continue sleeping hungry, and now, are on new a savagery of punitive taxes in the upcoming Finance Bill 2023.
William Ruto cheapened the country’s politics in 2022.
He failed to tell Kenyans how he would solve the complex and nuanced problems facing the country and went to discuss waganga and rich families in all his rallies.
He simplified real issues facing the country and distilled the compounded problems into narratives of hate, backed by the church plus ethnic bigots like Rigathi Gachagua and Moses Kuria in tow.
The UDA 2021-2022 crusade was manipulative and solely for William Ruto’s personal gain, without any genuine concern for the issues or the well-being of the electorate. Kenyans are witnessing it unfold in real-time and may be a wake-up call for the country to be logical next time. For now, it is a potholed ride.
