Skip to main content

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.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20 LINGALA WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW THEIR MEANINGS

Over the last couple of decades the Lingala language has gained and continues to gain unprecedented popularity in Kenya . Many Kenyans now can speak fluent Lingala. Some even sing in the langauge! I'm talking about Papa Fololo, Igwe Prezda Bandasson, Awilo Mike of Jamnazi Africa and Fofona Bangali to mention but a few. Part of the reason for this popularity is: Lingala is easy to learn especially for Swahili speakers (For Lingala-Swahili similarities, click here ). I mean, it is ridiculously easy. So easy, in fact, it takes just a few months. I'm not talking about the Lingala you hear in songs that's bedeviled with iterations of Lingalized French (Hahah, what does that even mean?). I'm talking about Lingala in its purest form here, the one not polluted with foreign languages. Another reason for Lingala's growing popularity in Kenya is down to how it pervades our popular rumba songs and radio stations. For the average Kenyan, not a day passes without hearing at leas...
91 comments
Read more

TEN LUO WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW THEIR MEANING

 Luo language is a group of closely related languages spoken by River-Lake Nilotes, who trace their origin in the area we today call Republic of South Sudan. The language calls itself "Dholuo" or "Lep Luo" in other dialects and is spoken by the Acholi of Uganda, Luo of Kenya, Jopadhola, Lango, Alur among other tribes. We have painstakingly compiled a list of some Luo words which we think you've most probably come across while listening to luo content and would like to know what they actually mean. Let's get right into it, shall we? 1. Hera - Hera means love. It is both a noun and a verb. It is the first Luo word that anybody interested in learning the language usually encounters. From album titles, song titles to baby names and pet names, it pervades everything. Hera remo, hera mwandu, hera bungu, hera mudho and hera apilo are all music titles by various luo artistes. Hero remo translates to "love is blood" (the word "is" or its Luo eq...
Post a Comment
Read more

TOP 5 LUO BENGA SONGS AND MUSICIANS OF ALL TIME

Luo benga is a crowded scene. It is a boiling pot teeming with hundreds of artistes, both dead and alive, young and old, male and female jostling for space in this very competitive music world.We have legends like the late George Ramogi, the late Owino Misiani (also known as DO Misiani), The late Okatch Biggy, the late Prince July, the late Prince Kassam, the late Omondi Tony, the late Kollela Maze, The late Kodiyo, to sample but a few. We also have an emerging crop of young talents like Dolla Kabarry, George Dume, Otieno Small, Kamaliza Majengo, Aluoch Jamaranda, Reggie Kabaselle  (son of the late Ochieng Kabaselleh ), Aluoch Jipanoran, Ogina KoKo, Omondi Longlilo, and the old guards like Jerry Jalamo Ka'John  and Osito Kalle to mention but a few. We cannot all agree who is the best and I am not going to impose my choices on you. But we can agree that from the long list of Benga artists in Luoland a few names stand out and a few songs stand out from the bunch like giraffe in...
24 comments
Read more