Hustler out! Ruto welcomes the dreaded 'Dynasties' as 2027 draws near

In the lead up to the 2022 general election, then-deputy president William Ruto, who was up against the seasoned and more battle-hardened Raila Odinga, fashioned his public messaging into a virulent assault on a powerful gang he christened the 'Dynasty' - the sort of impenetrable alliance that comprises the families of the Kenyattas, the Mois and the Odingas.

A master choreographer of the public emotion, especially during the electioneering season, Ruto used his proficiency at public speaking to mount an unassailable onslaught on the Odinga-Kenyatta matrix, using the 'poor vs rich' logic to win over the masses and endear himself to the public, eventually sauntering into State House.

Born and brought up in the humble Sambut village in Kamagut, to a penniless Daniel and Sarah Cheruiyot, Ruto used his impoverished background to plead his case, asking Kenyans to choose him over the Odinga-Kenyatta alliance, which, he claimed, had enjoyed decades of decadence, privilege, political entitlement and leadership birthrights.

In no uncertain terms, Ruto made his disdain for the 'Dynasties' known, using every public opportunity to severely rebuke the concessions afforded to the Kenyatta, Moi and Odinga families, and convincing Kenyans that these families, who had ruled Kenya for decades in various capacities, were responsible for all the ills bedevilling the nation.

A beguiling charmer and gifted orator, Ruto fused his anti-dynasty rhetoric with a foolproof attachment of political affirmations and arguments, expertly arguing that electing the son of a poor Kamagut widow was the only plausible way to reset the country and rid it of the political carnivores with famous last names.

From pushing wheelbarrows to making much of the fact that he was a chicken seller in his youth, Ruto increasingly framed the 2022 general election as a contest between "Hustlers vs Dynasties".

At that juncture, he coined the popular phrase "Hustler Nation" where he spoke of how he went to school barefoot, getting his first pair of shoes at the age of 15, and how he once "hustled by selling chickens by a roadside".

And Kenyans, expectedly, believed him, bought his narrative and consumed his bombast.

But soon after ascending to the highest office in the land, and enjoying the gilded prestige of the State House cachet, Ruto quickly turned on his own words - slowly, he wiggled his way around, desperately looking for the same dynastic names he once demonised, this time, not just for a fleeting handshake and a photo-op; but a complex, drawn-out working formula.

All of a sudden, Kenyans would see Ruto emerge from closed-door meetings with his former boss President Uhuru Kenyatta, a man he once denigrated as the personification of Kenya's woes, owing to his last name and privileges as the golden son of the nation's Founding Father.

The two former sworn foes would now emerge from large doors smiling and throwing around bear hugs, as they appeared to rekindle the enchanting 2013 camaraderie which they first exhibited when they initially came to power.

And then, after the violent Gen Z demonstrations in 2024, which threatened his grip on power, again, Ruto scrambled around for yet another chip of the 'evil' dynasty he once swore against - Raila Odinga.

The twosome, to everyone's surprise, soon merged into a formidable political pact created, initially, to help the president remain in power and secondly, to help stabilise a nation ruthlessly torn apart by violent uprisings, upheaval, State killings and deadly rhetoric.

The Raila-Ruto 'bromance' quickly moved from a mere catch-up over coffee to an officially cemented political partnership that gradually saw the former prime minister wiggle his way back to power as some of his staunchest henchmen even found plum positions in Ruto's calamitous cabinet.

All of a sudden, the 'Hustler Nation' had gradually given way to the romantic 'Broad-Based Government' which is essentially Ruto's cute name for his unexpected dalliance with the same dynasties he warned the electorate about.

Over a year after welcoming Odinga into his fold, on October 10, Ruto dug deeper into his basket and fished out former Baringo senator and a perfect exemplification of a dynasty: Gideon Moi, the son of Kenya's second president.

By ensnaring all three - Kenyatta, Odinga, Moi - and managing to talk them into supporting his administration and lending their clout to his crumbling rule, Ruto double-crossed the very 'Hustlers' he sought to empower, and, effectively, went back on his own word and advice against trusting the leadership or cunning proposals of the wealthy class.

While he still, time to time, preaches the Mama Mboga gospel, and while his deputy is still criss-crossing the country dishing out pocket change to disenfranchised women and boda boda youth, Ruto remains in the quiet corridors and swanky boardrooms - calculating, plotting and contemplating.

After all, it is now evident, the very men the Kenyan voter was warned against, are the same men who have come to Ruto's salvation - and they didn't leave their famous last names behind.