Known for his wide political networks, wealth and sometimes high swaggering character, former Kiambu County Governor William Kabogo is also a man of many controversies.

While he appears to court controversy everywhere he goes, Kabogo’s resolve to contest for political office is ever ablaze.

In a steadfast determination, he has weathered enormous storms to be where he is, and on his way up he has stepped on quite a number of toes.

Kabogo accuses Ruto of ‘stealing’ his victory

Beaten by former Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu in a landslide victory that saw the now-disgraced Kiambu governor garner 716,336 votes against his 192,045 votes, Kabogo has never imagined Waititu would ever trounce him in any election.

In the 2017 Jubilee party primaries that set the precedent for his loss during the main election, Kabogo accused Deputy President William Ruto of playing underhand games to deny him victory.

It is the loss that resulted in an unpleasant fallout between the two and which according to Kabogo left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I was among the individuals who crafted the merger between TNA and URP. When it came to nominations which I had been assured of, things went south. DP Ruto was in charge of the exercise and I have no reason to say otherwise,” he told a local television station in 2020.

Kabogo now supports Ruto

But Kabogo is a changed man, he is now dancing to the tunes of Ruto and unlike in the previous years when he would face leaders insulting President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Mt Kenya region kingpin, head-on, the character of Kabogo has changed and he is now an army commander for the second in command.

The former defender of President Kenyatta now plays another league of not only poking holes in his government but also citing areas, especially in the economic sector where he (President Kenyatta) would have performed better.

He had earlier made it clear that he would never be engaged in a nomination process citing that he has been shortchanged four times and true to his word, Kabogo will now be seeking to recapture his seat on his Tujibebe Wakenya Party from which he got a direct ticket.

While he had years ago stated that Ruto has no automatic support in Central Kenya, Kabogo now says DP Ruto will bag all the votes from the vote-rich region and is the right man to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

As he continues with his campaigns across the 60 wards of Kiambu County to hopefully take over from incumbent James Nyoro who is also defending the seat, Kabogo has however not changed from his seemingly abusive language towards voters, especially women.

Demeaning women?

In 2017, he was accused of allegedly spewing words that were interpreted as demeaning to women, claims he dismissed as propaganda and urged the claimants to produce video clips of him making such utterances.

This year, the former county boss, in a video clip that flickered on social media was heard calling some voters who had allegedly caused an altercation during DP Ruto’s function fools.

“I have done my research and arrived at the fact that Ruto is able, ……stop chaos you fools, what do you want to display to us,” he was heard saying.

Initially, Kabogo had expressed interest in the Presidential seat and had even started moving around various counties popularizing his bid but withdrew the ambition.

He had also been in high gear to take over from President Uhuru as the next Mt Kenya region kingpin, a position that saw him engage in verbal exchanges with Mt Kenya Foundation leaders who he accused him of auctioning the region’s votes.

Up until he declared interest to vie for the Kiambu governor’s position, Kabogo no longer speaks about his ambition to become the region’s spokesperson.