Our Kenya

Kibaki and William Ruto

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The relationship between Mwai Kibaki and William Ruto traces a full arc of Kenyan politics: alliance, betrayal, prosecution, and eventual succession. Ruto, a young Kalenjin politician from Eldoret, was initially a Kibaki ally in the 2002 coalition. He broke with Kibaki during the 2005 constitutional referendum, joined Raila Odinga's side in 2007, and was later accused of organizing violence in the Rift Valley during the post-election crisis. Kibaki's government cooperated with the International Criminal Court's investigation into Ruto, leading to his indictment. By 2013, Ruto had reinvented himself again, this time as running mate to Uhuru Kenyatta, Kibaki's successor. Kibaki, ever the pragmatist, watched it all unfold and said little.

Ruto entered national politics as a protégé of Daniel arap Moi, serving in KANU's Youth Wing. But when Moi chose Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor in 2002, Ruto saw opportunity elsewhere. He defected to NARC, campaigning for Kibaki in the Rift Valley. His energy, grassroots mobilization skills, and Kalenjin networks made him valuable. After the landslide victory, Ruto expected rewards. He was appointed Minister of Home Affairs, a significant but not commanding position. He was 36, one of the youngest ministers in government, ambitious and impatient.

The relationship soured during the 2005 constitutional referendum. Kibaki's proposed constitution, which lacked the promised prime minister position and meaningful devolution, angered much of the NARC coalition. Ruto joined Raila Odinga's "Orange" campaign, actively campaigning against Kibaki's "Banana" side. The referendum defeat was humiliating for Kibaki, and Ruto's defection was personal. Kibaki fired him from cabinet along with the rest of the Orange faction. The alliance was over.

By 2007, Ruto was fully aligned with Raila's Orange Democratic Movement. He became ODM's point man in the Rift Valley, rallying Kalenjin voters with a message that combined economic grievances, land disputes, and anti-Kikuyu rhetoric. The campaign was effective. Rift Valley constituencies swung heavily to Raila. But when the election results were disputed and violence erupted, Ruto's role became deeply controversial.

Investigations, including the Waki Commission and later the International Criminal Court, accused Ruto of organizing and financing violence in Eldoret and surrounding areas. The allegations were specific: that he coordinated meetings, provided funds, and mobilized Kalenjin militias to attack Kikuyu civilians. Ruto denied everything, framing the accusations as political persecution by a Kikuyu-dominated state seeking revenge. The evidence was contested, but the ICC found enough to indict him in 2011 as one of the "Ocampo Six."

Kibaki's government cooperated with the ICC process, at least initially. Kenya had referred the post-election violence cases to The Hague after domestic justice failed. Kibaki, having been forced into the Grand Coalition with Raila, had little incentive to protect Ruto, who was allied with his rival. The ICC cases became a political football, dividing Kenya along ethnic lines again. Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, also indicted for crimes against humanity, framed their prosecutions as Western interference in Kenya's sovereignty.

The 2013 election turned the tables completely. Uhuru and Ruto, both facing ICC trials, formed an alliance and ran together as president and deputy president. The "Jubilee" coalition mobilized Kikuyu and Kalenjin votes, the two largest ethnic groups, and won. Kibaki, having declined to seek a third term, quietly endorsed Uhuru. The transition was peaceful. Ruto, the man his government had helped indict, became deputy president. The ICC cases eventually collapsed due to witness intimidation and lack of cooperation from the Kenyan state.

Ruto's rise to the presidency in 2022, after serving as Uhuru's deputy for ten years, completed the arc. He had gone from Kibaki ally to Kibaki opponent to indicted suspect to deputy president to president. Kibaki, who died in April 2022 just months before Ruto's inauguration, did not live to see the final act. But the relationship between them encapsulates Kenya's political fluidity: alliances are temporary, ethnicity is mobilized strategically, and survival depends on reading the moment.

See Also

Sources

  1. Cheeseman, Nic. "The Kenyan Elections of 2007: An Introduction." Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, no. 2 (2008). https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rjea20
  2. Mueller, Susanne D. "Kenya and the International Criminal Court (ICC): Politics, the Election, and the Law." Journal of Eastern African Studies 8, no. 1 (2014). https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rjea20
  3. Lynch, Gabrielle. I Say to You: Ethnic Politics and the Kalenjin in Kenya. University of Chicago Press, 2011.
  4. "William Ruto: From Chicken Seller to Kenya's President," BBC News, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa

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