Editor’s note: In this opinion piece, Kimutai Kirui argues that for Kenyans to succeed, they must support President William Ruto with honest, humble, and well-intentioned counsel rooted in truth—not sugarcoating, gaslighting, or sycophantic applause laced with self-interest and conflicting agendas, such as kingpin politics.
A man earmarked to be forgotten in two weeks, two years later, Rigathi Gachagua (Riggy G) appears to be the president, while the sitting president, Ruto, appears to be playing the role of the opposition leader—courtesy of Hon. Oscar Kipchumba Sudi and associates.
This trend of removing leaders and imposing others has reached even Uasin Gishu County—the president’s political backyard.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi appears neither alarmed nor ashamed to claim they will “deliver” the president through “their system.”
Sudi was among the first UDA loyalists to suggest the president would lose, but because they have “a system,” they would simply “fill the numbers.”
President Ruto’s political machinery appears increasingly exposed, with critics questioning its lack of a competent support team, fresh ideas, and strategic creativity.
The system seems to have run out of momentum, initiative, and innovation, relying more on a show of might, resources, and confrontation than persuasion.
A strategic rethink is necessary. A serious overhaul is needed to restore credibility, effectiveness, and public confidence.
President Ruto’s men who risk sinking the ship
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, his public service counterpart Geoffrey Ruku, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah and Sudi risk sinking the very ship the president envisioned with good intentions.
Having failed to achieve their grand plans of imposing puppets across the board, they now seem determined to force their agenda instead of allowing due process and reason to prevail.
They thought they were removing a political obstacle; instead, they may have created a more formidable force.
What was meant to weaken Riggy G has given him a bigger stage, a sharper voice, and a renewed political identity. In politics, efforts to silence a rival can transform them into a symbol and amplify the very influence one seeks to contain.
Impeachment was expected to end his momentum. Instead, it has elevated his profile and handed him a larger platform to challenge the government’s narrative.
The greatest political miscalculations are not always the battles you lose—they are the opponents you accidentally empower. In politics, the biggest mistake is turning your rival into the main event.
Impeachment was costly, but the bigger risk is the strategy being used to counter the opposition.
It could become a political own goal
With Gachagua on one side and Oscar on the other, many may lean toward Gachagua, who projects confidence and hope. Oscar, by contrast, is increasingly seen by critics as representing an old, combative style of politics defined by arrogance and excess. In politics, perception matters—and the wrong strategy can turn a rival into a stronger force.
The advisers who convinced and pushed the president to impeach Riggy G should never be allowed anywhere near the seat of power again. Politically, that decision has become one of the government’s biggest own goals.
Instead of being politically buried, he has become the government’s most formidable critic, dictating the tempo of the conversation while forcing those in power onto the defensive. Sudi, Ruku, Murkomen, Ichung’wah, Health CS Aden Duale, and the rest only deepen the government’s predicament.
Every reckless attack on Mt Kenya, West, or Gachagua in person amplifies his message, elevates his profile, and exposes their own political miscalculations. They seem to be fighting emotion with rhetoric while they are playing strategy.
Rigathi Gachagua has proved to be the real political deal—elite in strategy, venomous in execution, and unapologetically radical in approach. He doesn’t merely respond to political blows; he returns them with precision, intensity, and impeccable timing. Gachagua doesn’t serve his politics cold—he serves it scorching hot.
Put Oscar Sudi and Murkomen on one side and Rigathi Gachagua on the other. The latter would make minced meat of the two.
The author is Kimutai Kirui, a Kenyan political analyst and human rights activist known for his work in Uasin Gishu County, where he has championed justice in cases ranging from police brutality to land disputes affecting widows.
Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the editorial position of news9.africa.
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