Ruto Out Of Order In Castigating The March 2018 Handshake
By People Daily, August 25, 2021By TOM JUMA
It is appalling and absurd that a leader would come out openly to castigate the peace and unity efforts President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga have forged over the past three years. Deputy President William Ruto’s strictures on the “Handshake” cast doubt on his value for the peace and stability that has sustained the country and whether he would rather have a warring nation under his feet. Is Ruto being logical or downright unrealistic on his claims that the March 2018 Handshake was a miss? Where would the country be if the leaders never thawed their anger for the sake of peace and stability of the nation?
Why is the Deputy President underestimating the power of the Handshake?
We must take a moment to ponder at the circumstances that had engulfed the country after the August 8, 2017 General Election. Was Kenya a happy rosy place? Re-elected with a 54% lead of the vote as presented by the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission, IEBC, the Opposition then had doubted the outcome and duly contested them at the Supreme Court winning in their favour. Already, tension had started building up from supporters on both political factions. Subtle insults and rants had started filling our social media spaces and even on the mainstream news, as the rivalry grew. Sixty days later, the election was held but this time round Raila Odinga had withdrawn claiming that it was impossible to undertake reforms in the IEBC due to constitutional limitations. This created more uncertainty that had worsened with the resignation of a Commissioner and the Chief Executive Officer taking leave. However, despite the hurdles the elections were carried out and President Uhuru Kenyatta attained a landslide victory but this did not stop the opposition declaring and swearing in Raila as the ‘People’s president’ in what ensued to a shut down of three news outlets that had defied orders on a ban on media coverage on Raila.
Behind the scenes the country was gradually deteriorating to lawlessness. Businesses were shutting down, as fear and tension continually grew. Theft was rampant. Many travelled to zones they though were safe fearing a repeat of the 2007/08 General election. Human rights groups had raised several warnings on the violations of human rights that had already taken place. All the sirens were blaring that Kenya was heading in the wrong direction. The country was on the verge of violence with streets spread with contingents of paramilitary officers. Everything spelled doom, and it was only after President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga surprised the country by making truce as the main rival parties through the March 2018 Handshake, that sanity was brought back to the nation.
This decisively quelled the stalemate, quietened the political ructions and made Kenyans realize that peace, unity and stability of a country come above political ambitions. President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minster Raila Odinga had seen how their ambitions had become a political threat to the stability of the country which was slowly degenerating to a repeat or even a worse occurrence of the 2007/08 poll violence where Kenya literally burned.
Therefore, was the Handshake amiss as Deputy President William Ruto continually claims? Is he aware that several people had already lost lives, investors were fleeing the country and Kenyans were not free to operate their businesses with the maximum output with others not operating at all?
It appears irrational and unrealistic for a leader not to appreciate the big step of public love that was displayed and has been sustained over the years for the good of Kenyans. No country can run in the absence of peace and this is all the reason why even in Afghanistan, people are currently fleeing in droves out of fear of what may befall them under the Taliban.
A leader cannot rule and fulfill his agenda in the absence of peace in a nation unless it is by coercion which would undoubtedly translate to fighting. On this, it is Ruto who is amiss in underestimating the power of the Handshake.