DP, poisoned chalice that leaders are scrambling for

President William Ruto and DP Kithure Kindiki after a cabinet meeting at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

 Despite being President William Ruto’s Principal Assistant, UDA Deputy Party leader and arguably the deputy leader of the Broad-Based government, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki is facing a serious challenge to his throne that is being dangled at every coalition discussion.

Coupled with reports that he has been stripped of the lucrative Intergovernmental Coordination docket, which has been handed to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Kindiki's future looks bleak.

However, this is now a familiar script. The position is hallowed as a bargaining chip. The candidate is a heartbeat away from the top seat and is required to have both numbers and resources when making a case at the table. Once the dust settles, the reality sinks in that it may not be as lucrative as once seen.

The position of deputy president has again become a poisoned chalice, just like it was to former Vice Presidents Mwai Kibaki, Prof George Saitoti and Prof Josephat Njuguna  Karanja in the old Kanu days and more recently to William Ruto, Rigathi Gachagua and now Kindiki.

Kindiki has decided to fight on rather than surrender, but the scramble for his position has started notwithstanding the historical parallels.

Although the position is at the door step of the presidency, it also has hidden dangers, heavy burdens and, in some cases, the knack for killing political careers. Most occupants of the position, from the country’s Vice President Jaramogi Oginga to the current office holder Kindiki, have had challenges.

Political analysts maintain that the second in command position is a jinxed position where the holders should never feel comfortable.

According to Prof Macharia Munene, the second in command is always on tenterhooks waiting for his boss to make any political move that may spell doom for his career.

“Whoever becomes number two should be concerned, because we have seen that it is dangerous to be the second in command. You are not safe; that is not a new phenomenon in Kenya,” he said.

He added: "It goes back to Jomo Kenyatta; his number two was Jaramogi, who fought on some sort of ideology; then came Murumbi where the fight was over the ideology problem; then we had Moi, who was fought by Kenyatta’s handlers.”

According to Prof Munene, the DP position in Kenya is a ceremonial position, and anyone who gets it should never feel secure due to competing interests and ever-changing dynamics.

Ideological differences with their bosses, unhinged political ambitions, power deals, and failure to consolidate numbers have been presented as some of the reasons that have cost former Vice Presidents and all three Deputy Presidents that have served under the 2010 Constitution.

During a tour in his home turf, Kindiki maintained that “Ruto-Kindiki ticket” would be on the ballot next year, telling leaders seeking the position to forget it.

"You do not build a house, complete it, furnish it, and then abandon it to go and live in the forest. That is not possible. We are not going anywhere. We are in government to stay," he said.

In the Mt Kenya region, some of the leaders who have declared interests to oust Kindiki include Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru and Ndia MP George Kariuki, who have maintained they have come of age to deputize Ruto.

Kariuki has advanced the narrative that Kindiki has not lived up to his mandate of showing leadership direction, especially after the resounding loss in Olkalou by-election where the government-backed candidate was defeated by a decisive margin of 30,000 votes.

According to the MP, there existed a leadership gap in the region, and it was high time Kindiki admitted and pulled up his socks.

“If you have been given the opportunity to lead us, especially those of us from the mountain, stop sleeping on the job, take the mantle and lead us the way, don’t be lazy, lets embark on the work that we have been given by the President and if you fail some of us will take it and lead the way.”

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has added to the uncertainty by claiming that he supports Kindiki but adding a rider that Mt Kenya East would still back Ruto even if the President picked another running mate.

While Kindiki is facing internal rebellion from within UDA, ODM has maintained that they will only accept equal partnership with UDA as an irreducible minimum to support Ruto’s re-election.

Wycliffe Oparanya, Hassan Joho and Gladys Wanga are among the names being considered for Ruto’s running mate, a move that threatens the unity if the remaining faction of the party headed by Oburu Oginga and Wanga.

The tug of war boils back to Kindiki, who has to contend as he helplessly watches his juniors, the Cses, MPs and governors tear each other for his position while his boss remains silent.

However, his predecessors suffered the same fate. Gachagua complained of being harassed by junior public servants as Ruto watched while being sidelined became the norm before he was hounded out of office through an impeachment.

Ruto too claimed to be isolated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime as his juniors scolded him publicly. At some point in September 2020, Former Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko referred to Ruto as a mere "clerk" and must show respect to Uhuru.

At the height of his isolation, Uhuru issued Executive Order No 1 of 2019 dated January 21, appointing Matiang’i as the head of the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee for the delivery and oversight of National Government Development Programmes and Projects across the country.

Matiang'i was also tasked to lead other committees such as the National Development Implementation Technical Committee; Regional Development Implementation Co-ordination Committees and 47 County Development Implementation Co-ordination Committees that stripped Ruto’s powers and duties.

Matiangi’s mandate was to provide supervisory leadership throughout the delivery cycle of all National Government Programmes and Projects, receive and deliberate on reports from the National Development Implementation Technical Committee, provide timely guidance on appropriate measures to address challenges constraining effective implementation and delivery of National Government Development Programmes and Projects and monitor and evaluate the followup mechanisms for resources allocated for National Government Priority Programmes and Projects, to ensure proper utilization and realization of the targeted outcomes.

Essentially, Ruto was rendered jobless, and his only duty was to crisscross churches explaining to Kenyans how his work had been taken over by Matiang’i following his fallout with Uhuru.

Other than Ruto, Kindiki and Gachagua, Vice Presidents who served under the old Constitution such as Jaramogi set the pace for the office holders, especially after Jaramogi resigned in 1966 after his fall out with Jomo Kenyatta.

Following his resignation, Oginga formed the Kenya People’s Union (KPU) and established himself as the country’s leading opposition figure, just as Gachagua did following his impeachment in October 2024.

For Muranga governor Irungu Kangata, the second in command is a position that is used by Presidential contenders to marshal numbers.

He says in the current political scenario, where Kindiki’s ability to galvanize Mt Kenya region into Ruto’s grip is under scrutiny, the President would be at crossroads on whether to remove or retain Kindiki.

“DP position is used to marshal numbers and Ruto could be asking himself three questions: If I retain him, what does he bring to the table? If I remove him, the few votes I would have got from him I won’t and then in removing him, it gives the Opposition fodder to advance the narrative that Ruto has issues with every one for removing Gachagua and then Kindiki,”

On his part, Prof Gitile Naituli noted that Kindiki was in the same position as Wanga and Oburu due to Gachagua’s rise and ODM’s divisions respectively.

“Ruto has an option of retaining Kindiki as a bait to keep the Luyhas and Luos guessing. He can promise them to vote for him and then impeach Kindiki after the election; it will be valuable for him because he can keep on promising, but replacing him and accepting one among the other regions might expose him to a major political fallout.”