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Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi has weighed in on the alleged tension between between DP William Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta, asserting that the President is merely tolerating the DP who he does not need any more.
Through his weekly show “The Fifth Estate”, Ngunyi led his team in asserting that Uhuru and Ruto are in in conflict, maintaining that interests may have shifted with the entry of Raila Odinga.
“Uhuru does not need Ruto. He is only tolerating him…This is painful but it is the harsh truth.”Ngunyi affirmed.
He stated that with the handshake between Raila and President Kenyatta, there was room for the President to change his mind should Odinga win his heart.
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“Ruto should remember that there are no permanent friends in politics, we only permanent interests and if Uhuru’s interests change then Ruto should adjust his expectations.” Ngunyi stated.
He opined that with the entry of Raila into the union, uhuru is now playing hard to get with Raila’s entry and it is a clear message to the DP that it perhaps it is time to adjust his expectations.
He revealed that before 2017, the President courted DP Ruto, massaging his ego and in turn DP Ruto became comfortable with the flattery and began acting like a co-president and not a deputy president.
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File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto in Kitengela
In the opinion of Ngunyi, DP Ruto failed the test of humility when he got comfortable and began acting like a co-president.
DP Ruto's mistake
According to Ngunyi’s team, things started wrong after DP Ruto delved into 2022 succession politics as soon as Uhuru won a second term in office.
The team concluded that DP Ruto’s frequent rallies across the country “are nothing but a countdown- a reminder to Uhuru that his term is coming to an end soon although Uhuru still has four years to go”.
The team predicted an attempt by DP Ruto to impeach President Kenyatta should he be shortchanged, stating that “If Ruto is shortchanged and it is clear to him that it is over, he will try to impeach Uhuru.”
The team maintained that "Uhuru and Ruto are in in conflict, it is now official. We need not to pretend".