Is President Ruto Too Available?
This is the pertinent question a section of Kenyans are grappling with. Far from the mode of operation adopted by presidents who came before him, president William Ruto is often in the media both mainstream and social sites due to his busy schedule. Four months into his regime, the head of state has had no single day to rest, if he is not attending an official government function he is on a plane to a certain foreign country to represent Kenya on official duty. And the president and his luminaries seem to be enjoying the attention they are receiving and to go with it, president Ruto has heavily invested in his fully-fledged communication team equipped with modern state-of-the-art equipment to keep the vibe going.
It is critical to note in these four months in power the president has visited twelve countries and back at home, he has been to almost all regions. Now his ever presence in the media, whether attending a public function or launching government projects has some Kenyans wondering whether the head of state is just too overwhelmingly available. There’s no manual dictating when and if the head of state should appear in media or other channels of communication. It is squarely at the discretion of the sitting president to decide on how to conduct his business, so president Ruto is perfectly in order to choose to have an engagement on daily basis until when he decides otherwise.
Most striking is how president Ruto has decided to spend his Sundays. Every Sunday the head of state attends a thanksgiving service somewhere in the country. Already this move has elicited mixed reactions from a section of Kenyans who have accused the head of state of overdoing religion. Worth noting is that these thanksgiving services are slowly shaping up as political rallies. The president and his team have from time to time used airtime allocated to them to dance to political undertones in the country. The church views the head of state as one of them and indeed president Ruto has built himself as a man who respects his faith and who has extensive knowledge of the scripture, his numerous quotes from the bible, can the church really question his commitment?
The head of state has adopted ‘say I say’ operandi. He is not the type that will sweep anything under the bus and let it pass. As opposed to his predecessors who would at times ignore politics, especially from opposition, president Ruto has decided to handle politics head-on. Every statement from opposition leader Raila Odinga is met with a counterstatement from the president or his trusted allies. As a result, four months in his regime, the country is in a political mood albeit not an elective political mood. Some feel president Ruto should adopt a rather diplomatic approach and avoid commenting on some issues.
Such feeling is also captured in the way president Ruto engages with men and women he has entrusted with the running of various ministries. There is a feeling the commander in chief is too available in the running of the ministries and seems not to trust his cabinet to do the job right. He is seen actively involved in ministerial functions and attends such functions where only the presence of cabinet secretary is sufficient enough. Don’t get me wrong, president Ruto has a right to attend any function in his government.
All said and done, we are for the first time in the leadership of the country witnessing a president who has unrivalled energy to get work done. Time will tell whether the shift put in by the head of state will steer the nation in unprecedented heights of development.
