By Henry Kimoli
DP William Ruto is finally on his lane. Infact, few people remember he carried the title:Dr William Ruto. Or where his official address is. The cabinet secretaries who helped leash the DP have no job left after completing their task successfully.
Covid-19 has limited access to President Uhuru Kenyatta keeping distance and curfew are prescriptions for flattening the curve and the President must lead by examples. Bars and hotels, the places where political ideas, gossip and plans for political activity are held are firmly locked.
Uhuru is also said to be keeping a safe distance from his phone(s). And since no one can swear at the President for not picking write an impolite message or dare to blackmail him men and women initially close to Uhuru are running scared.
He is under no obligation to pick their calls or return them for that matter. He is sitting pretty after dismantling the opposition and setting the stage for a grand BBI government State House is a no go zone.
Finally, the BBI chicken have come home to roost. Suddenly, DP Ruto is not a very bad idea the CS’s have realized.
President Uhuru, with only three years of his Presidency left, has unleashed a fresh ruthless image that is making CS’s run scared.
On Friday 7th August 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta launched a restructuring drive of parastatals. In one swoop, he merged the Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Railways and Kenya Pipeline into one umbrella body. The Kenya Transport and Logistics Network(KTLN). The body will regulate the activities of member parastatals, reducing the powers of CS James Macharia.
In this new arrangement, Uhuru is creating a docket for a new CS, in a bid to share power as per the BBI interim report. Truly, a cabinet massacre is looming. And thus Mr. Macharia’s bloated ministry of Roads, Housing and Infrastructure is set for guillotine to accommodate political interests.
Uhuru appears keen to safeguard business while appearing to share political power. BBI kingpin, Raila Odinga has vested interests in the economic cluster of Transport, energy and spirits. Assuming therefore that he has mega say in Government, Raila may be angling for this ministry in the new political order. And so Uhuru may be bending to these interests, without appearing to lose ground as the head of state.
Insiders say the President is toying with the idea of splitting the ICT docket to separate information and Broadcasting Communications and ICT and Youth Affairs in a bid to enhance service delivery. And pay Raila the ultimate political debt…
Then there is the manpower challenge. Central Kenya cabinet slots are over subscribed.
There is the increasingly powerful Mutahi Kagwe(Health, Nyeri County), the indispensable Joe Mucheru(ICT, Nyeri), the besieged James Macharia(Transport,Housing, Infrastructure and roads), Muranga, Sicily Kariuki(Water and Sanitation), Nyandarua. Add this to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Peter Munya.
Since Raila wants real power for his allies, he will seek to get one of these appointed to other positions or sacked.
But Uhuru has a problem. He likes rewarding loyalty and these are his central Kenya troops. They were using kn cutting DP William Ruto to size. And the DP can’t be pushed further he is at the wall.
The mission for these CS’s and even Fred Matiangi is completed. They must now demobilize and find relevance or wait for Uhuru to cut them to size.But its not these five some who are not sitting pretty. Monica Juma, the CS Defence has been running scared since Kalonzo Musyoka joined government. The Rift Valley CS’s such as Moses Chelugei (Labour), Keter (Energy) are running scared. Uhuru is at a period in his life when nobody matters.His interest is to leave a legacy of a united Kenya..and a thriving business.
