Blame Game: Ruto vs. Kenyatta – The Battle of the Economies Unfolds in Public Eye
As he took his oath of office, the Bible remained warm to his contact. At that moment, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua began to criticize Uhuru Kenyatta, the individual whom President William Ruto had recently succeeded.
Having attained the position of the nation’s second-most powerful individual, he intended for the man operating behind him, a former president with less tenure than a typical TikTok video, to experience his wrath.
Knowing the formidable task that lay ahead in terms of revitalizing the economy, Mr. Gachagua attempted to reacquaint their supporters with reality following a tumultuous campaign season during which they pledged to begin turning the tide “as soon as we put the Bible down.”
“The truth of the matter is that we have inherited a dilapidated economy that is facing almost an economic shutdown. We have a 10 trillion public debt, 6 million Kenyans have no employment, 14 million are in CRB, and we have a demoralized public service. It is your prayers that will help our president to put up a team that will take us back to where President Kibaki left us 10 years ago,” Gachagua told a mammoth crowd at the Kasarani stadium.
Thus, a chorus was initiated which, although accurate, would become a preference of the Kenya Kwanza administration over a year later. The recurring response to any contemporary crisis is “It wasn’t us; it was the last guy…” This pertains to the economy as well as leaking roofs.
With exactly one year and a few months remaining, the Kenya Kwanza government continues to maintain the accusation that the Jubilee government, led by former president Uhuru Kenyatta, is responsible for the deplorable living conditions that Kenyans are currently enduring, despite Ruto’s diligent efforts to rectify the situation.
A viral video of a leaking roof inside our international airport surfaced a few days ago, humiliating a nation that is rightfully proud and shocking Kenyans who are perplexed as to how such scenarios continue to occur in 2023.
Kipchumba Murkomen, cabinet secretary for transport, immediately acted, raced to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), and placed the blame on the previous administration for the leaking roof.
“When we got into office, we found that the projects in the previous regime were substandard. When the renovation was done on Terminal 1C and E, it was in a hurry and temporary because there needed to be set up an in-field project which was costly…” said Mr Murkomen.
Kenyans expressed indignation on social media platforms regarding the minister’s remarks, questioning why the roof had remained leak-free for months and attributing mundane, nearly daily responsibilities to a government that had vacated office more than a year prior.
DP Gachagua defended Murkomen, stating that the previous administration was to blame.
”JKIA was done at a massive cost but today, it is a shame to the profession of engineers and architects. Public resources were expended, and when you go there, you feel sorry, yet engineers and architects certified, and based on that certification, payments were made,” he said.
During his State of the Nation address, President Ruto consistently emphasized to Kenyans that when he assumed power, the nation was precariously balanced.
“On 13th September 2022, when I took office, I undertook to ensure the urgent transformation of our economy and to stop and reverse the negative trends of runaway unemployment, yawning inequality, and widespread poverty which were denying Kenyans their dignity and extinguishing their dreams,” said the president.
However, even he recognized that the entire ‘it wasn’t me’ strategy was failing to register with Kenyans and was compelled to clarify that he was not employing it as an excuse.
“It is important for us to point out that we began the implementation of our mandate to transform Kenya’s economy from the bottom up under extremely difficult circumstances, not to excuse failure or justify inability or omission to do the necessary work.”
Uhuru, Ruto’s predecessor, emerged from his retirement sanctuary on Sunday to express his displeasure at being utilized as a pretext.
However, President Ruto was in Bomet County with his customary chorus before he even spoke.
As was customary in his discourse, President Ruto attributed the lamentable condition of the economy to the Kenyatta administration.
Although Ruto pledged to implement his ambitious plan to revive Kenya’s economy, he acknowledged that the previous regime left the country in a debt-ridden state.
“This country was headed to a place where we would be overburdened by debt to a point where we would be taken where those who cannot pay their debts go to… I will not be the president who will take Kenya there,” he stated on the Ksh.10 trillion public debt.
While in Kitui County, Kenyatta needed to release an emotion from his chest.
“I do not want to say much, not because I fear, I stopped fearing. We have been threatened and told a lot of things. Every time someone fails they say ‘Oh! Previous government,” he remarked.
“Tomorrow when women fail to give birth they will say ‘You know Uhuru did it’. I don’t know, but I am used to it.”
Aside from the opposition Robert Mbui, a member of parliament for Kathiani, once cautioned the governing government against attributing fault to Uhuru, remarking that it is regrettable that the government remains intent on hurling accusations despite being in power.
“This administration’s list of priorities is incorrect. “They must ensure that their residence is in order and recognize that citizens require sustenance,” he advised.
“I would advise this government to stop being fixated on former President Uhuru Kenyatta. He is already months out of office and they are still blaming him for things that occurred when its own leader was Uhuru’s deputy.”
Senator Richard Onyonka of Kisii also urged the government to deliver on its commitments to the Kenyan people and refrain from shifting responsibility.
“They never talk about how the former Deputy President who is now the President, William Ruto, was with Uhuru Kenyatta. The first five years they were together, so any of the mistakes that Uhuru was making William Ruto must own up,” Onyonka said speaking to Citizen TV on August 1, 2023.
One remains a retired countryman who will solely reflect on the successes and failures of his administration, presumably maintaining a lucid continuity of the “It wasn’t me games,” while the other is tasked with fulfilling his ambitious pledges to a nation on the precipice of economic collapse.
Blame Game: Ruto vs. Kenyatta – The Battle of the Economies Unfolds in Public Eye
