It is difficult to be William Samoei Ruto during this digital age, especially if you are in a cast where you must always watch your back.
Not that it has been easy being a self-declared hustler—hustling comes with its pleasures and agonies. For 'William' the agonies of bad publicity are coming too fast too soon.
Ruto himself might not be aware, but he should suspect that someone could be collecting evidence for his possible impeachment, when the numbers tumble under some influence. This sustained tempo should worry him, and others who count the former MP for Eldoret North as their bright star.
The dilemma of the will to continue using or dump is beginning to tell. It could be a matter of time.
Ruto admirers may, for now, think of the possibility as a conspiracy of Jubilee cynics. But the count of the cynics of kusema na kutenda is rising with every misstep. The signs of a conspiracy are on the wall, but lovers of the victim of the conspiracy may ignore the plot for the sake of Executive harmony.
The conspiracy has taken a life of its own and is moving at a speed that show someone may be keen on showing 'Bill the Hustler' as a free spender, within the first 100 days of the Jubilee government.
The honeymoon is over, but Ruto's tribulation began 40 days after the April wedding at Kasarani.
It cannot be a coincidence that the bad news is coming from the URP corner of the government. This reel of 'scandal-lets' may be orchestrated for a political purpose to be executed in the fullness of time.
There is a feeling—an inkling for now—that someone in the citadel of power is playing dangerous cards, as usual, against the ambitious Deputy President. Too little ambition takes a Deputy President nowhere, but too much may antagonise the man in front and his courtiers. Ruto better know this— kikulacho ki nguoni mwako (be wary of those who pretend to be your friends, they may betray you).
There are power insiders who detest the amity between Ruto and President Uhuru. They expect the Uhuru to keep a protocol distance from Ruto so that wananchi can tell the difference.
Even though the public holding of hands and wearing of matching outfits seems to have slowed down, the point was made that even though they shared the same fate when running for office, too much Ruto around President Uhuru had its early critics.
When the first reel of the multi-million shilling Ruto trip to West Africa was shown, it was excused as the handiwork of 'moles' associated with the former Prime Minister. A senior officer in the procurement department, a carry-over from the analogue age, was the buck stopper. A furore followed from the URP corner, asking Ruto to dismiss suspected officers he found in the office vacated by Raila after the March 4 polls.
Even after the office was cleared of suspected whistleblowers, the reel rolls on with more bad news and unflattering publicity. A court case by a man whose land Ruto was said to have 'grabbed', also advances the plot. But it is only Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale who has read the substance of the court case. The bullfighter of Ikolomani has asked Ruto to resign because a court of law found evidence of trespass.
Khalwale imagines claiming ownership of someone's property is not as bad as pinching the nose of a security guard at the entrance to a supermarket. Former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza lost her job for the lessor offense of an assault, which was not premeditated. But Ruto has retained his job with a minor fine of Sh5 million, thanks to a judge who knows you must wear velvet gloves before hitting the Deputy President.
But before anyone remembers to back up Khalwale's position, another possible expenditure of millions of shillings is swelling around 'Bill the Hustler'. The whistleblower who serialised Ruto's intention to have the yet-to-be occupied mansion refurbished, must be privy to a possible plot to derail Bill.
The renovation, if it goes through, would add another Sh100 million to the Sh400 million already spent on the vacant mansion in Karen. This is a happening at a time teachers are rioting over pay; nurses are picketing, and other public sector employees are demanding improved terms.
Ruto's salvation, for now, is in his own hands: He must tame this appetite for conspicuous consumption. He must also ensure there are no whistles to blow to keep the conspirators off air. That way, Chapter Six of the constitution on integrity will not be a barrier to Bill's ambition for survival and a higher office.
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