It is this guru-like mastery of the art and science of navigating through pragmatic political situations that doubles the bitter bile from his older less brilliant opponents.
Recently and to the chagrin of his political opponents, Ruto, whose favourite scripture is Matthew 6:33, put up a prayer chapel in his Karen home where prayers are held daily.
By Meshack Kyenze.
When Alexander the Great ascended to the throne after his father’s assassination in 336 BC, his foes underrated and dismissed him. To them, a teenage king (he was 18 years old) would do nothing more than his father.
Maybe, they thought it was time to overthrow the Macedon Kingdom but how awfully wrong they were.
Alexander would vanquish them all conquering the entire Europe, Asia and parts of Africa where a city is named after him.
Similarly the young Deputy President William Ruto’s meteoric political rise to stardom in Kenyan politics, otherwise dominated by aged players, has similarly befuddled his political rivals.
Serving second term as Number Two at the age of 52, the doyen, as commonly referred to by his admirers, finds himself as the youngest senior politician in the country. His older rivals find themselves in an awkward and humiliating situation when behooved by protocol to refer to him as Boss, Mheshimiwa or His Excellency.
Undoubtedly his spectacular rise since the 1992 famous YOUTH for KANU where he served with older Cyrus Jirongo has naturally left a multitude of older humiliated losers most of whom are unable to conceal their hate.
Since 1997, at age 31, when he phenomenally trounced the then powerful Nyayo Cabinet Minister Reuben Chesire from Eldoret North parliamentary seat, the suave political genius has pulled what psychologists refer to as prodigy.
When I see the passionate abhorrence all the potential 2022 presidential hopefuls led by Raila Odinga, Gideon Moi, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, all older than Ruto, I understand where it stems from: humiliating defeat by a kid brother.
Furthermore, like Alexander the Great, Ruto’s exceptional brilliance, as evident in quelling hostiles and appeasing loyal masses, has quadrupled the covetous envy among his political rivals.
History tells us that Alexander the Great who was tutored by knowledge-loving Aristotle, moved with a bunch of scholars like botanists, geographers, geologists and historians analysing and recording throughout his expeditions. Ruto the learned PhD holder professionally handles his politics hiring campaign planners,strategists and managers in all his political undertakings.
A potrait of Alexander the Great
A classical illustration is how he has publicly managed his relations with his boss Uhuru Kenyatta while at the same time maintaining his boss-defiant loyal cells inside Uhuru’s ‘bedroom’ in Central.
It is this guru-like mastery of the art and science of navigating through pragmatic political situations that doubles the bitter bile from his older less brilliant opponents.
Thirdly and unlike Alexander who was born in royalty, Ruto is a political outsider born among the inconsequential ‘Nobodys’ Tribe in Kenya. Undoubtedly when the children of the dynasties sit to dine at the royal table, they contemptuously dismiss the ‘illegitimate’ child of the Nobodys as a disruptive nuisance.
This explains why unconventional Ruto naturally attracts new generation politicians and poor youthful voters in the country while older generation politicians loathe him.
More over, just like Alexander believed himself son of god Zeus, Ruto has not shied from publicly declaring God as his secret of success.
Recently and to the chagrin of his political opponents, Ruto, whose favourite scripture is Matthew 6:33, put up a prayer chapel in his Karen home where prayers are held daily.
The confident DP also attributes his success to his prayerful wife Rachel who has been crisscrossing the country for prayer and women empowerment crusades.
All said, Ruto, the youngest, most brilliant and most learned 2022 presidential hopeful from the predominant Nobodys Tribe of Kenya is undoubtedly our Alexander the Great of the next generation politics in Kenya.
The author is a political activist and communications expert.
