5 Times Ruto Lost His Cool Over Raila and the BBI

When President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga unified through the handshake, Deputy President William Ruto maintained a calm composure, keeping Kenyans guessing what his opinion on the surprise political unity was.

When the two leaders, thereafter, launched the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), whose possible outcome is like an egg thrown at Ruto’s political career, he still held on to his poker face, leaving his die-hards to politick on his behalf.

Odinga, however, managing to overpower Ruto in the Kibra by-election, seems to have finally gotten the DP ticking, if his latest rants on social media are anything to go by.

Deputy President William Ruto with ODM leader Raila Odinga. [Photo, Courtesy]
Before the Kibra poll, Kenyans were used to occasional reprimanding posts by Ruto directed at the media over fake news or smaller political issues.

After his candidate, MacDonald Mariga, under the Jubilee Party umbrella lost to Odinga’s Imran Okoth in the Kibra poll, the 2022 presidential aspirant now appears to have shifted strategies, tackling Odinga on a personal basis.

Responding to the moderate violence that erupted during the Kibra mini-poll, Ruto threw his previously exercised caution, of not mentioning names directly, to the wind and castigated Odinga publicly, questioning his commitment to the spirit of the handshake.

The Nov. 10 tweet, however, did not seem to relieve the DP of his anger.

The following day, Ruto once again poked holes into the logic of the BBI, which was meant to bring to an end political violence, yet the same continues to prevail in ODM affiliated regions.

But Ruto did not stop there.

On Nov. 13, the Deputy Head of State continued expressing his frustration over Odinga’s invasion into Jubilee in the name of BBI, noting that it was not the first time the former Prime Minister broke political unions apart.

Later, a frustrated Ruto went as far as borrowing deported Miguna Miguna’s terminologies to describe Odinga, who through BBI politics, managed to demote him into a third-wheeler in regard to Uhuru’s political plans.

Social media is not the only avenue the DP has used to demean BBI efforts, although it is the platform on which he is carefree enough to mention names.

In September, a fed-up Ruto mocked Odinga, for using cunning tactics to get back into power, urging him to outrightly tell Kenyans that he wants a Constitution change, instead of taking them round in circles in the name of BBI.

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