President William Ruto dumps hustlers for dynasty in a stunning political pivot that’s left his grassroots base fuming, as the self-proclaimed champion of mama mboga vendors and boda boda riders cosies up to the very elite families he once railed against during his fiery 2022 campaign. Just days after a high-profile visit to KANU Chairman Gideon Moi’s sprawling Kabarak estate, critics are branding the move a blatant betrayal, accusing Ruto of trading the wheelbarrow-wielding underdog narrative for handshakes with Kenya’s old guard to shore up his 2027 re-election bid.
The about-face hit fever pitch on October 10, when Ruto jetted into Nakuru for a tete-a-tete with Moi, son of Kenya’s second president Daniel arap Moi, at the opulent Kabarak farm that doubles as a political fortress after the Statehouse visit.
It was a far cry from the hustler anthems that propelled him to State House, where he thundered against “dynastic cartels” like the Kenyattas, Mois, and Odingas for hoarding power and perpetuating poverty.
At that time, Ruto pledged to implement a Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda aimed at uplifting marginalised communities, such as roadside kiosks manned by single mothers and riders dodging potholes for a daily Sh500 hustle.
“This is not about individuals or regions; it’s about Kenya,” Ruto insisted during the Kabarak powwow, framing his dynasty dalliances as a pragmatic grab for “more hands” to drag the nation from Third World drudgery to First World glory by 2055.
This isn’t a one-off charm offensive. Flashbackto December 2024: Ruto’s olive branch to ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta at his Gatundu ranch paved the way for Mt Kenya allies like Mutahi Kagwe and Lee Kinyanjui to snag Cabinet slots.
Fast-forward to post-protest handwringing in June 2024, and Raila Odinga’s ODM crew, Opiyo Wandayi, John Mbadi, and Hassan Joho, slid into key portfolios, sealing a broad-based government that reeks of the very inclusivity Ruto once decried as elitist cronyism.
At AIC Ziwani Church’s 70th bash just yesterday, Ruto doubled down, name-dropping his chats with Uhuru, Raila, and Gideon as blueprints for economic miracles, from sovereign wealth funds to Galana Kulalu’s bumper maize hauls.
The backlash is visceral, especially from the hustler heartlands. Impeached ex-Deputy Rigathi Gachagua, nursing grudges from his ouster, torched the strategy as “the biggest betrayal”, snarling that Ruto’s Bible-thumping anti-dynasty crusade was all smoke and mirrors.
“He dined with the families he swore to dismantle; now he’s one of them,” Gachagua spat, rallying Mt Kenya loyalists who feel the sting of unfulfilled promises like capitation cash for schools and tax breaks for small traders.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua piled on, dubbing the hustler pitch “hot air” and the “greatest betrayal”, lamenting how mama mboga and boda boda crews are now “crying out from Ruto’s oppression” amid soaring levies and vanishing wheelbarrow whispers.
Gatanga MP Edward Muriu echoed the fury, accusing the president of taxing hustlers dry while bankrolling dynasty buyouts, leaving social services in tatters. Not everyone is making disparaging remarks.
COTU boss Francis Atwoli hailed the unity push as a win for workers craving stability and investor magnets, while pundit David Monda chalked it up to Ruto’s “political pragmatism” in a landscape flipped by Gachagua’s fall and ODM’s cabinet crawl.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi, though, sees desperation: Moi’s clout is “nil,” Uhuru’s Mount Kenya grip is slipping, and Raila’s vigour wanes; yet the optics scream untrustworthiness, dooming any Wiper crossover with Kalonzo Musyoka.
As Mashujaa Day nears, Ruto’s dynasty detente shows Kenyan politics’ eternal truth: interests trump ideologies. For the hustlers who wheeled him to victory, it’s a gut punch; promises of pockets lined with opportunity are now swapped for elite alliances.
