DETAILS OF HOW RUTO LOST THE ELECTION

Kenya’s elections have often drawn comparisons to a marathon, given the relatively intense campaigning that goes on between one five-year election cycle and the next.

Indeed, election campaigns never quite stop in the country.

The countdown to this year’s August 9 elections, for example, might have started way back in late 2017 or in March 2018 when President Uhuru Kenyatta surprisingly made peace with opposition leader Raila Odinga, triggering a fallout with Deputy President William Ruto and major political realignments in the country.

For the neutrals, the dramatic break-up between the former dynamic duo has served up some of the best political entertainment in the past five years – from the power stripping of the DP’s office to the purge of the ruling party’s parliamentary leadership of rebels.

Ditto the BBI sparring at Bomas where Dr Ruto tore the government-backed constitutional reforms into shreds, and President Kenyatta jocularly compared his deputy’s perceived unbridled ambition to a rogue relay race runner sprinting in the opposite direction instead of waiting to receive the baton.

While the Deputy President has been on the receiving end of rough play during most of his run-ins with the establishment, he has cleverly managed to turn his tribulations into a political advantage by playing victim to win public sympathy, for example, and waiting for an opportune time to go on the offensive.

Exact revenge
In May, he seized the moment at former President Mwai Kibaki’s funeral service to exact his revenge with devastating effect, declaring the deceased as the best President Kenya ever had.

The remarks were widely interpreted as meant to rubbish the legacy of President Kenyatta, who was present at the event.

But in the final two weeks to August 9, Dr Ruto has appeared to buckle emotionally under the pressure turned up by a President keen to have a say on who succeeds him.

On Friday, the Deputy President had a meltdown at a campaign rally in Nandi, accusing President Kenyatta of betrayal and warning the latter against attacking him in campaign meetings.

Dr Ruto was apparently angered by President Kenyatta terming him a liar the previous day over his promise to relocate the dry port in Naivasha to Mombasa.

Now, there is nothing untoward about a sitting president endorsing or campaigning for his preferred successor.

In any election campaign playbook, the rival candidate is fair game as well.

Dr Ruto and his allies have in the past taunted President Kenyatta for not campaigning for Raila, especially in his Mt Kenya backyard. So why the bile now?

Well, it simply means the race has since evolved from a marathon into an extreme political sport.

This is the stage when rival camps smell blood and go for each other’s jugular. For those who love some adrenaline, the final lap is the most thrilling leg to watch.

But for the candidates like Dr Ruto, the experience can be emotionally draining, especially when the opinion polls consistently show you trailing your opponent.