ODM senator supports Ruto

‘It’s too early for 2022 campaigns’ is a slogan that’s being used by politicians as they campaign for 2022. Political outfits are being made and discarded with equal abandon. Currently the country has two horses: Raila and Ruto. Of course we have irritating voices from Kalonzo, Mudavadi and other KANU spoilt boys crying, ‘nataka pia.’

Ruto is playing at a disadvantage. The moment Raila and Uhuru went into a frowned upon relationship, Ruto’s life became a mess. The humble peasant from Sugoi who had climbed to the top albeit sometimes using shortcuts found himself plummeting from a 10 storey building. With Uhuru’s power and wealth combined with Raila’s political suaveness and numbers, Ruto is being hounded from the political sphere.

When this political charade started, Ruto had the numbers. Something his allies used to brag everyday. They still brag about that today, it’s just that you have to wear hearing aids to hear them. The first shock in their numbers came when disgraced Waititu was impeached by the senate. Despite Waititu spending better part of the day pleading in English till he got swollen lips, the poor guy was humiliated by a vote of 28-11.

Most governors ran scared. It’s no secret that we have 47 corrupt governors in this country. With ODM supporting Uhuru’s Jubilee side, any governor could be impeached. After Waititu’s impeachment, most governors did not want to be associated with Ruto. When Waiguru was acquited by the Senate, it became all clear to every governor in the republic that supporting BBI came with its perks.

Few politicians are jumping ship to join Ruto. Most are assuming his is a sinking ship or it could be that they are bidding their time till that time when it will be safe to cross shores. This could be a replica of what happened in 2002. Politicians hung onto KANU till the last moment. A few hours before KANU ship anchored, with the port in sight, Saitoti and company wore their life jackets and jumped into the night. They swam towards a relatively new boat being paddled by Mwai Kibaki and Kijana Wamalwa.

It’s a welcome reprieve for Ruto to see Senator Ledama Ole Kina warming up to the Hustler cause. The once fiery supporter of Raila and ODM has on recent times become its biggest critic. Nowadays he dines with Ruto’s point man Kipchumba Murkomen. Twitter is full of their bromance and flirty texts. They have even formed a sorority club named Team Kenya which is just another campaign outfit in disguise.
When Ruto was forced to postpone his function in Kisii county after police teargassed his supporters who thought they would go home with a wheelbarrow, Ledama tweeted, “I shall jealously defend democracy in Kenya, freedom of speech and freedom of expression no matter what!.” This was not the first time Ledama was showing support to Ruto. A few days ago, in obvious reference to Ruto, Ledama had tweeted, “Hate it or love it the underdog is on top.”

When the Team Kenya sorority club emerged victorious on the Revenue Allocation Bill, the Narok senator tweeted, “No matter what we do with the formula this guy is always winning…. Koitalel Arap Samoei the true Wizard lives forever.” He has also not been fully supportive of BBI as shown by one of his recent tweets, “We are set for BBI bring that baby we massage it! Let me tell you it’s gonna be interesting!!!”

It’s not clear if Ledama is supporting Ruto because he believes on him or because he’s still hurt by the humiliation Raila put him through earlier this year. Ledama had shown infedility by going to bed with Kipchumba Murkomen and other jubilee senators to be elected as the chair of Senate County Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC). This was in disregard from an earlier agreement that Senator Ongeri would be given the powerful post. ODM moved quickly and initiated a process to dewhip the senator. In Moran rage, the Narok senator filed a case against the party.

When it became clear that Ledama had underrated the resolve of the party, he rushed home to seek advice from the elders. Masai elders held his hands as they took him back to ODM to be canned for his indiscipline. After the meeting with the respected Masai elders, Raila issued a statement, “Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina has this morning agreed to withdraw the case he had filed against ODM over the Senate Public Accounts Committee chairmanship, surrendered the seat and apologized. In return I’ve instructed the party to reverse the decision to dewhip the Senator.”

Ledama has never recovered from that public humiliation. His Moran pride was wounded. Every waking day, he teary looks at the Masai Mara plains, listens to the roar of lions and asks the wilderness, ‘When can I roar again?’