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Why Hon. Ruto Has To Tread Carefully on BBI Politics

Hon Dr. William Ruto is a clever politician. He opposes the so-called Building Bridges Initiative but wouldn't come out guns-blazing to campaign against it. Unlike Raila Odinga who came out to oppose the Wako Draft and emerged victorious in 2005 referendum, Ruto doesn't want to appear to be all-out opposed to the document only terming it as "not a priority". He has refused to be drawn into the debate as to whether BBI is actually good for the country or not. And while this seems all good, others will be quick to point out that ignoring a problem doesn't solve it. Proponents of BBI will also demand from those who oppose BBI an alternative remedy to Kenya's perennial problem of election violence, tribalism and regional imbalance in development.

BBI logo (source: bbi.go.ke)

Ruto has his work cut out. He has to strike a balance between his populist, anti-establishment sentiments on one hand and appearing to be bitterly opposed to a document that a good section of Kenyans deem favorably, on the other. By playing the populist card, Dr. Ruto has no choice but to lean towards where the majority seem to go as far as the BBI debate is concerned and at this stage of the process, it isn't just clear yet. This explains why Ruto has so far held his horses. How long this will continue is anybody's guess.

Hon. Dr. William Ruto (source: pintrest)

Like any politician, Ruto's ultimate goal is to be Kenya's president. Among all the presidential hopefuls, he is until now the only one who hasnt spoken well of BBI. Dr. Ruto runs the risk of further isolating himself from all the political big fishers. On many occasions Dr. Ruto has opined that the only thing that unites the likes of Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetangula and Gedion Moi is the fear of him. He says none of the bunch can face him alone. Granted, but what Ruto is yet to do is to explain why him? Why is he the black sheep, the ugly duck in the gaggle of goose.

Dr. Ruto is a clever politician, I say it again. He probably has a trick up his sleeve of how he intends to win the 2022 presidential elections, without BBI and without the sympathy of the establishment. But the man has to tone down on his opposition to BBI lest he run the risk of making himself the only presidential candidate in 2022 who is both anti-establishment and anti-BBI. Actually, Ruto's major challenge is to propose an alternative cure to Kenya's problem other than BBI, instead of denying the problem and bashing the only prescription so far available - and on this, he has to tread carefully.

 

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