Ruto accuses Uhuru of sabotaging his administration

What you need to know:

• Dr Ruto said he had supported Mr Kenyatta in four elections and stood by him when he needed political support.
• He said Mr Kenyatta had lowered the dignity of the office of the retired President by remaining involved in partisan politics.

President William Ruto has renewed his criticism of his predecessor, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, accusing him of betraying a political pact they allegedly made when they were allies and of now sponsoring opposition politics against his administration.

According to Dr Ruto, he and Mr Kenyatta had agreed that the latter would serve as President for 10 years before handing over to him for another decade.

But he alleged that Mr Kenyatta abandoned the arrangement when it was his turn to seek the presidency, instead supporting former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga in the 2022 election.

“You never showed up. Instead, you worked against me,” the President said.

Speaking in Sindo, Dr Ruto said he had supported Mr Kenyatta in four elections and stood by him when he needed political support.

“My brother, I helped you when you needed someone to help you. I supported you in four elections and took care of you. When it was your turn to help me, you never did, even for a single day. But later God helped me to become the President of the people of Kenya,” the President said.

Dr Ruto said he held no grudge against Mr Kenyatta for failing to support his presidential bid, acknowledging that it was the former President’s democratic right to back a candidate of his choice.

“You did not support me, and I have no issue that you did not support me. It was your democratic right,” he said.

But the President accused his former boss of undermining his administration and sponsoring opposition politics against the Kenya Kwanza government.

Dr Ruto said Mr Kenyatta had lowered the dignity of the office of the retired President by remaining involved in partisan politics.

“You are lowering the dignity of the office of the former President. You are lowering your own dignity as a person,” he said.

He accused Mr Kenyatta of undermining the Kenya Kwanza administration through what he described as political sabotage and demonstrations over the past four years.

“Now you are trying to set up the alternative nothing (opposition) to compete with us. They will not succeed,” he said.

The President’s remarks came shortly after the High Court upheld a law restricting retired Presidents from holding leadership positions in political parties beyond six months after leaving office. The court, however, did not bar retired Presidents from belonging to political parties or participating in political activities.

Mr Kenyatta has since indicated that he will hand over the leadership of the Jubilee Party following the ruling. His office said the judgment had provided the legal clarity needed to complete the transition. 

Dr Ruto told his predecessor to respect the office of the retired President and allow his administration to govern.

“My brother, the country is bigger than any individual, including you. Let Kenya move forward,” he added.

The President also turned his attention to his predecessor’s economic record, claiming that his administration had inherited an economy in disarray and had since made significant changes.

“We have established the economy that you left in tatters. We have repaid most of the debts and reduced inflation. We have also doubled our foreign exchange reserves,” Dr Ruto said.

He also claimed that his administration had made progress in education and healthcare, sectors he said were left in poor condition by the previous government.

“We have hired 100,000 teachers and made sure that CBC is understood by the public. We have equally built 23,000 classrooms,” he said.

On healthcare, Dr Ruto accused the former administration of failing to effectively implement Universal Health Coverage, saying his government had since transformed the sector.

Dr Ruto has spent five days in Nyanza seeking to turn his political relationship with senior Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leaders into a broader foothold among voters who, for decades, identified with the late Raila Odinga.

The Head of State traversed Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori, launching markets and unveiling plans for other projects worth billions of shillings.

He shared platforms with ODM leaders under the broad-based government arrangement, while seeking to present himself not as a successor to Mr Odinga’s political establishment, but as a partner committed to protecting his legacy while working with the party he once opposed.

Political analysts and governance experts say the tour went beyond development, describing it as part of a wider effort to consolidate the political gains made through the broad-based government and establish a stronger presence in a region long associated with Mr Odinga.

They say Dr Ruto used development projects to give his political message a tangible basis, while his public embrace of Mr Odinga’s legacy and close association with ODM leaders was aimed at easing resistance to his administration.

They describe the UDA party leader’s approach as a “development charm offensive” aimed at softening historical resistance in the lake region.

But they caution that cooperation among political leaders does not necessarily translate into a shift in voter loyalties.

Governance expert Javas Bigambo said the President’s tour had combined development, political engagement and direct interaction with residents, giving him an opportunity to assess the region’s political and socio-economic mood.

“He has presided over the commissioning and unveiling of various completed infrastructure development projects, engaged local political and business leaders, listened to ordinary citizens and closely interacted with them, and finally also felt the true pulse of the region politically and socio-economically,” Mr Bigambo said.

He said the President had also moved beyond his previous approach of visiting individual counties to undertake a region-wide tour covering Nyanza.

“Notably, he has conducted a region-wide circuit superiority storm, in cross-counties initiative like never before,” he said.

Mr Bigambo said the tour formed part of what he described as a broader strategy by Dr Ruto to strengthen his presence across regions ahead of the 2027 elections.

“It is apparent, from his tour of Kajiado County in its entirety, then South Rift and now Nyanza, that President Ruto is now doing a region-based ground combing, and he may have adopted sweep-campaigns to entrench himself and consolidate the broad-based regions in early timings,” he said.

Political scientist Mikhail Nyamweya said the President’s Nyanza strategy had three strands: development, coalition-building and the political symbolism of Mr Odinga’s legacy.

“Development projects give the President something tangible around which to construct his engagement with the region, while cooperation with ODM leaders gives him local political infrastructure and legitimacy in an area where he historically struggled electorally,” Mr Nyamweya said.

The projects have given Dr Ruto a platform to argue that his administration is delivering development to a region that has long complained of marginalisation.

His political message has been reinforced by the presence of senior Nyanza figures in his administration and at his rallies.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, Energy and Petroleum CS Opiyo Wandayi and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo have played prominent roles in the government’s engagement with the region.

Their involvement has helped the President make the case that Nyanza is now closer to the centre of government. But the political significance of the ODM partnership goes beyond Cabinet appointments.

Dr Ruto has repeatedly described his cooperation with ODM as a continuation of the relationship he established with Mr Odinga before his death.

Mr Nyamweya said the narrative gives ODM leaders working with Dr Ruto a basis for presenting the partnership as a continuation of Mr Odinga’s political direction.

“The President is therefore not simply attempting to enter Raila’s former stronghold; he is trying to position himself as one of the beneficiaries of the political arrangement Raila left behind,” he said.

But Mr Nyamweya cautioned against assuming that Mr Odinga’s support base could simply be transferred to another politician.

“Raila’s political authority was accumulated over decades and combined party organisation, historical opposition politics, personal loyalty and a particularly strong symbolic relationship with supporters,” he said.

Communication strategist Mark Bichachi said the President’s visit carried significant political symbolism. He said the President had lined up a number of projects for Nyanza and given special attention to the region.

“There is definitely a political point to be made. He has made enough political effort for that to be a serious consideration of what’s in Nyanza,” he said.

According to Mr Bichachi, the people of Nyanza have waited for some development projects for a long time, and the President is using this to win their trust.

“What is left for the President to do in the region is not about promises but overcoming sentiment and it seems that the team that he has in ODM is working very hard to help him gain ground in Nyanza, off the back of the development projects, but also off the back of the broad-based government,” he said.

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