The Ruto administration is in constant and aggressive campaign mode due to panic and anxiety, says Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Secretary General Dr Barack Muluka.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation on Monday, Muluka compared the Ruto administration’s style of political campaigning with that of former President Mwai Kibaki, describing the late President’s style as subtle and Ruto’s as more crass.
“All governments, whether they have installed themselves through the barrel of the gun, or whether they have been installed through the ballot, whether it's been the ballot or the bullet, as Malcolm X used to say, they require goodwill from the public, and to enjoy that goodwill, they must be perpetually in the campaign mode,” said Muluka.
“What varies is the guise of that campaign mode. Is it subtle, or is it crass? What we are witnessing in Kenya today is crass. What we witnessed under President Mwai Kibaki was subtle, in that in a subterranean way, he is all the time popularizing his policies.”
Muluka argued that the crude campaign style by the Kenya Kwanza administration stems from panic and anxiety ahead of the 2027 elections, noting that Ruto’s presidency has faced legitimacy questions from the start.
“Kibaki yes, was campaigning, yes, only that he was a lot more polished, and therefore we may want to ask, what are the drivers behind this crude campaign? One, I think, is panic. President William Ruto has lived under the cloud of panic from the very moment he took over. Remember that the legitimacy of his government was questioned by the political opposition,” he said.
He added that there is also fear within government over the rise of vocal youth-led formations and what appears to be a vibrant opposition led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and former Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i and Justin Muturi, among others.
“He also lives in fear of a new phenomenon that has come up, what we may call the youth quake. And the youth quake is so amorphous, it is subterranean. It's not very clear where it's going to emerge from next time; it could develop into a force that becomes difficult, both for him and for the other side,” he explained.
Muluka further noted that the campaign mode is not exclusive to Ruto, as the opposition has also seized the opportunity to press the government.
“And I think in fairness to everyone, it's useful to point out that it's not just President William Ruto who is on the campaign rostrum. Their political opposition is also in the campaign mode,” he said.
He, however, stressed that a working and effective government does not need to campaign so aggressively.
“…a working government does not need to go out campaigning so robustly. It focuses a lot more on the work that it's doing, on the merits that can be found in the work that it is doing, and why what it's doing and its policies are good and why they should be carried into the future,” added Muluka.
Muluka's comments come as the Kenya Kwanza government faces criticism for focusing on campaigns instead of service delivery.
In January this year, President William Ruto warned his critics to brace for a campaign like no other ahead of the 2027 elections.
“There are people complaining that I have already started campaigns, let them hold their horses, it is not yet time. When we will finally hit the campaign trail, they will take off,” Ruto said in Bumala, Busia County.