By: Rashid Wanjala
William Ruto’s Paranoia is the story of a man, who never takes his own independent decisions, but is instead guided by paranoia.
Paranoia is defined by the American Psychological Association as the “unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions”. Paranoid individuals constantly suspect the motives of those around them, and believe that certain individuals, or people in general, are “out to get them.”
Does Ruto constantly think Raila is out to get him? Does he falsely imagine Raila was behind Mau evictions when actually he sat in the Cabinet Subcommittee that took the decision? Does Ruto think the West led by Obama and Hillary, are out to get him? Does he think Eugene is out to take TNA running mate slot from him? Yes. Does it interfere with the way he takes major decisions? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then he is a paranoid man. Methinks he is.
So to Kenyanize Ruto’s paranoia it is important to trace Ruto’s History of Paranoia. Follows:
Ruto has for a long time lost control of his decision making. It is determined by others. Like what is Mudavadi doing, so how does ICC fit in etc.
The only reason he settled on Uhuru is not because they have a confluence of vision for Kenya but because of ICC, paranoia and of course selfishness.
Start with 2002 General Elections when Uhuru Kenyatta, the wearer of the boot Ruto has decided to lick was in the presidential race. Ruto so bad wanted to be RV political Kingpin after Moi.
However Mzee Moi settled on Musalia Mudavadi during his first mis-learning lesson that he never learned from.
The Paranoid Ruto was not short of delusions that he had a way of becoming Veep after 2002 elections, at a time when even Uhuru’s chances were darn remote.
The dude devised a plan together with his wing in the kitchen cabinet that they could finance Mudavadi’s opponent Moses Akaranga’s Parliamentary campaign against Mudavadi in Sabatia.
The agenda was that Mudavadi would lose as MP, and as an unelected MP Ruto could pitia katikati and be Uhuru’s Veep!
However this plan boomeranged miserably because Kenyans had other plans- to kick Ruto’s baba na mama party KANU out of its 39 year hold on power.
And as a result of this mis-informed and rushed decision, Ruto was confined to the political cold for 5 years until Jakom rehabilitated him during the 2005 Referendum campaigns. We hope that he won’t require Jakom’s help again.
Raila helped Ruto to elbow out the Retired DT Arap Moi sons Gideon and Jonathan who were all defeated thanks to a formidable Raila- Ruto alliance.
At that time Ruto paired up with Raila because he was paranoid that the Moi family and Kanu would lock his line up out of the Bread basket province.
However, Raila, the best manufacturer of election waves since 2002 Kibaki tosha declaration helped the thankless Ruto with everything he needed, intellectually and resourcefully to defeat Moi’s dominance in the expansive province.
Now we can all recall that Ruto was a late supporter of Raila after he realized that the ground was with Jakom who had for a while instituted a Sally Kosgei-led bottom up campaign from the grassroots up, and the Arap Mibei had fast become an adopted son of Rift Valley.
However, like in G7 he came into Raila’s bandwagon in RV and jumped in as though it was his idea.
Grandiose delusions, which is about having fantasies about something that is out of your reach is also something that derails Ruto’s progress.
For someone whose opinion polling support is hardly 8% and restricted to only a few North Rift Counties to ask for 50% of government positions is delusional.
I don’t mean to say dreaming big is bad, but if it impairs your judgment, and disenfranchises your supporters because you repeatedly sacrifice the aspirations bestowed upon you at the altar of grandiose deceit and selfish pursuits, then we are staring at a huge problem here.
After the 2007 elections Ruto planned to arm-twist Raila into appointing him Veep, and that way elbow Mudavadi out. That’s why in 2008, he wanted to be made DPM even though Mudavadi had been the running mate.
Ruto’s unwarranted fear towards Mudavadi has always been out of belief that Mudavadi is a soft bonhomie that he should bully around, but who has always upstaged him with wit, his softness notwithstanding.
But that’s what happens to bullies, they are always like the hyena defeated by the hare that they deem soft. ODM will get its grove back and prevail at the ballot.
Now it’s without a doubt that Ruto’s paranoia towards Raila and also ICC has recently driven him towards an evil alliance with TNA whose challenges while in government, we recently observed, would have the most similarities to HAMAS due to their sanctions intertwined destiny.
But again Ruto explained to the tribal elders that the major driving factor to his rapprochements with Mr. Kenyatta was his paranoia or fear if you like of Kenyatta forming alliances with people from Western Kenya read Musalia Mudavadi or Eugene Wamalwa.
Now that is what surprises me about Ruto, he is very easy to get jealous. There’s not a key politician as gullible to manipulation like Ruto. I don’t know if TNA consulted any psychologist but it’s called Milieu strategy. Manipulating environmental factors to reform the subject’s behavior.
And here Kenyatta played it cool. The entire stage management at the TNA launch was all choreographed to make Ruto or Mudavadi jealous, and to- like a girl being seduced Machiavellian style- scare Ruto into thinking that Eugene would be the TNA running mate if he doesn’t become one.
Now going by his statements to the elders this seems to have scared the hell out of Ruto, meaning that he is more coward than even the person we thought was successor to General Kiguoya( coward) -Mudavadi. Is Ruto now the undisputed coward of Kenya’s political scene?
Outward he displays the image of a brave man, but deep inside the shell resides a coward, paranoid, delusional and gullible politician, whose fate has been sealed by a scarecrow with initials- EW unleashed on him by TNA strategists.
Ruto has now been whipped into line. He is now doing Uhuru’s bid. He is effectively in Uhuru’s pocket. Uhuru’s fate to the Opposition benches is now just like with ICC intertwined with Ruto’s.
Hopefully if Uhuru is jailed and Ruto acquitted, Ruto as Deputy Opposition Leader might ascend to the helm of Official Opposition Leader, that’s the farthest that the suicide pact can take him. Chants of “Achicha” just got legitimized by the pact and will grow louder. Raila won’t win RV, Uhuru will be rejected.
For Kenya-Today
