Give Ruto a Break Over New Laws

Clay Muganda
19 August 2010

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Nairobi — Many years ago, after a group of MPs from Nyanza had denounced him over his alleged links with a shadowy group that was supposedly out to overthrow the Moi government, Oginga Odinga took a dim view of the accusation and dismissively told a Kisumu-based newspaper reporter, in Dholuo, that Aringo biro lal.

Loosely translated, it means Aringo will lose his way, will get lost or disappear. But it had a deeper meaning which started becoming evident many years later, just before the first multi-party elections when Odinga was the man to go to, and came to pass after his death.

The Aringo that the enigmatic old man was referring to is none other than Peter Oloo Aringo, who was then the Alego-Usonga MP and Education minister. Together with the late Okiki Amayo, who was derisively referred to as Justice Amayo, they were party bigwigs and trusted lieutenants of the equally enigmatic Mr Moi, a president who brooked no opposition.

Amayo earned the justice title because he headed the misruling party's disciplinary committee, or something of the sort, and it was his duty to announce the names of those who needed to be disciplined, those who had been suspended, those who had been forgiven and even those who had been expelled.

Deliver a judgment

Announce is the operative word here because only one person could deliver a judgment over an errant misruling party member's infractions. It is not easy to remember exactly what Aringo's position in the misruling party was but he was eloquent, could wax lyrical while assuaging Moi's ego, so much that he earned the sobriquet Court Poet as his paeans were embellished with biblical terms like "the Prince of Peace".

Whatever happened to Aringo comes to mind when you think of William Ruto, the Higher Education minister who is under siege from his party members because he opposed the new Constitution. Come to think of it, what was his mistake that he has to be disciplined? Wasn't Ruto within his constitutional right to campaign against the new Constitution?

It is those who are calling for his sacking who are not embracing the spirit of democracy, which many Kenyans fought for, were jailed over and even died for? The people calling for Ruto's sacking have no sense of history and are acting as if he is the first person to change positions, or even oppose what is being supported by an assumed majority.

Worse still, they are acting as if he is the devil incarnate and committed the ultimate sin, a crime against humanity that is only punishable by ostracism. Granted, he has had a few infractions and in 1992, he was in Moi's camp as a strong member of YK'92 and never went against his gravy train even when many politicians disembarked after figuring out that they were being railroaded into a political abyss by a myopic driver.

In 2002, when people were leaving the gravy train, Ruto stuck his neck out for Uhuru Kenyatta, who was labelled a "Moi project" and dismissed as a loser even before the race for the presidency began. Come 2005, Ruto joined hands with some of those who were against Uhuru's presidential bid and campaigned against the draft constitution, and won.

In 2007, as he tirelessly campaigned against the Kibaki presidency, Ruto told off the professor of politics who was on the side of Kibaki, and delivered the Rift Valley vote to ODM. Inasmuch as people may throw brickbats at Ruto, he has been consistent and just because he agreed to disagree with Raila Odinga - his ally in 2005 and 2007 - over the Mau Forest evictions and other minor issues, it does not mean that he is a turncoat.

It shows that he is a firm believer in democracy, a system which some may claim he was against as a member of YK'92. Some radio presenters alluded that the Ruto who was campaigning against the new Constitution was, as Indians say, nakli, because the original Ruto had initially given it a clean bill of health.

Ruto is not alone and our political scene is fraught with people who have no ideals; people who waver between different political wings and we always embrace them without questioning why they are insulting our sensibilities.

Give Ruto a break, people. Life has a funny way of dishing out justice and just like Aringo, who was sent to political oblivion by voters, Ruto biro lal, then those who want him sacked can celebrate - the same way I, and many faithful readers, will do on Friday as we mark 313 weeks, or six years, of this column.