Ruto Dresses Down Uhuru, Raila In Debut Makadara Day Speech

President William Ruto on Thursday, June 1 called out Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga alongside leaders allied to the opposition over the anti-government protests he claimed threatened to divide the country.

The Head of State marked the 60th Makadara Day celebrations through his first-ever speech since ascending into power on September 13, 2022, to launch a thinly-veiled attack on Raila, as well as former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was his senior for 10 years.

During his speech in front of a packed crowd at Moi Stadium in Embu, Ruto seemed to fire back at critics including those in the opposition over accusations of hiring officials into government based on tribal affiliations.

President William Ruto inspects a Guard of Honour during Madaraka Day Celebration in Embu on Thursday, June 1, 2023. /PCS

"We must never forget that until fairly recently, our country’s politics was a divisive, violent, do-or-die affair by which neighbours, colleagues and even relatives were incited into hatred in the name of political competition. In this dark era, the tribe was the fundamental term of all political engagement and the master variable of the democratic contest.

"Many highly respected experts and eminent persons confidently affirmed that Kenyan politics is inherently tribal, and many leaders designed their political parties, policies and campaigns on the basis of raw tribal appeals," he addressed.

In a well-convoluted attack, Ruto noted that some political leaders may have tailored their politics to the benefit of the elite in society instead of Kenyans as a whole, in seeming reference to the handshake deal between Raila and Uhuru, as well as the events that followed it.

The Head of State revisited instances where Raila, his opponent in the 2022 presidential elections, was fond of using all manner of tactics to enter the decision-making bodies of the government through the back door.

"Leaders also made sure that political discourse revolved around personalities and the private interests of a few privileged individuals, and not the aspirations of the majority. Some used political parties as personal vehicles to access the high table where important decisions were made and exploited their ethnic constituencies to negotiate a bigger share of public resources as well as positions of power and privilege in the service of private ends," he went on.

Ruto noted that Kenyans realised the degree to which divisive politics was ruining the country's democracy as well as the progress of the country, thus championing freedom in the form of a cosmopolitan kind of democracy coupled with their unanimous aspirations.

"For decades, Kenyans understood that this perverse political culture not only defiled our democracy but also obstructed the spirit of daring and achievement, arresting our collective progress.

"The people of Kenya, therefore, yearned for freedom from the tyranny of political personality cults, toxic tribal discourse and the violence they engendered. They desired a more unifying, cosmopolitan framework of engagement which promoted the expression of their shared aspirations, and encouraged inclusive negotiation and a collective means of pursuing them," he added.

He thus termed the 2022 general elections as one of the most peaceful in the history of Kenya as the majority of the issues focused on the cost of living were covered differently in both Raila and Ruto's manifestos.

"In the last General Election, the people of Kenya finally broke free: The campaign was conducted purely on the basis of important national issues, foremost of which were economic issues.

"Not only did Kenyans reject the old divisive politics of tribe and tribal chiefs, but they also demanded and interrogated well-considered party manifestos with detailed plans for economic transformation. As a result, although the election was closely contested, it was the most peaceful in the multi-party era," he added.

President Ruto was declared the winner with a total vote count of 7,176,141 (50.49 per cent) against Raila with a total of 6,942,930 (48.85 per cent), according to results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on August 15, 2022, results Raila is yet to accept to date.