William Ruto likes to talk about his humble origins – his barefoot childhood in the Rift Valley; his first shoes at the age of 15; time he scraped by selling chicken and ground nuts on the side of a busy highway.
That story has been at the heart of Mr. Ruto’s election to what he calls a “hustle nation” – hard-working and ambitious young people who, like him, deserve a better contract. “If you listen to Joe Biden, he’s speaking the same language,” Ruto said in an interview. “How do we put the majority in the balance, where their talents, energy and ideas are also part of the making of the nation?”
But it’s not quite that simple. Although Mr Ruto has resigned from the outgoing government, he has been a part of it for the past nine years – as Kenya’s vice president. And his rich days are far behind: His vast business interests, made during his time in politics, include a 2,500-acre ranch, a luxury hotel and a huge poultry factory.
Today, Mr. Ruto, 55, is more likely to travel by helicopter than by “matatu”, the crowded minibus used by a “hustle man” in Kenya.
There was a lot of conflict on all sides in this pattern-breaking election, and Mr. Ruto brought a powerful, emerging energy to the country’s rich elite politics.
Even his detractors admit that he is charismatic, hard-working, and full of new ideas. His promises of “bottom-up” economics have resonated with poor Kenyans, who are still reeling from the pandemic and are currently grappling with soaring food and fuel prices.
And he has promised to wipe out Kenya’s old political dynasties – represented by his rival, 77-year-old Raila Odinga, and his political nemesis (and former boss), the outgoing president, Uhuru Kenyatta.
“There is no doubt that William Ruto’s presidential campaign has messed up Kenya’s political establishment,” said David Ndii, an influential economist backing Mr. Written on the eve of Tuesday’s vote. “They don’t see a hustler leading the way in re-imagining our politics.”
However, Mr. Ruto’s hatred of Mr. Kenyatta, a sole focus of his most ferocious attacks on the campaign trail, feels like an adversary. Critics point out that it’s an example of a ruthless style that, if Mr Ruto comes to power, could turn into authoritarian rule.
Mr. Ruto dismissed those concerns, as well as contesting his indictment by the International Criminal Court, in 2011, of causing election violence four years earlier. The case collapsed in 2016 after the Kenyan government stopped cooperating with prosecutors.
“The whole thing is a political charade,” Mr. Ruto said.
His biggest challenge now is probably apathy. A voter registration campaign earlier this year had a disappointing turnout, especially among young Kenyans who have been at the core of Mr. Ruto’s campaign.
If he wins, analysts say, he needs his supporters to do more than hustle. They need to go out and vote.
Abdi Latif Dahir contribution report.
