This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
Published on July 7, 2019, an opinion survey reportedly conducted by the intelligence in May 2019 put Deputy President William Ruto's approval ratings in central Kenya at about 80 per cent. However, this may be a myth.
Central Kenya has cast its ballot for the winning candidate in the last four presidential elections. Mr Ruto has been quick to exploit the anxieties and grievances of a region looking for direction as President Uhuru Kenyatta serves his final term.
A clever narrative created by local politicians affiliated with the Ruto-supporting Tanga Tanga group seeks to portray central Kenya as deprived of national government-funded development programmes due to the post-election Handshake deal between the President and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
However, the Deputy President increasingly looks like a man getting overwhelmed by a crisis of confidence. A streak of conspiracy theories – the La Mada assassination plot by his juniors in the Cabinet, the highly suspicious eggs theft at his Sugoi home and the insubordination by a county commissioner boycotting his church service in Nyeri – hardly betrays the demeanour of a presidential election contender with soaring popularity ratings.
My guess is that Mr Ruto is beginning to come to terms with the reality of Kenya's flawed democracy, from which he has probably been a beneficiary in the past and of which he could be the next high-profile victim.
