I will not negotiate with ethnic kingpins: DP Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto is arguably on a political reinvention, and is now, seemingly fashioning his style of politics to focus on ordinary Kenyans.

The DP said in a statement released at the end of a three-day meeting with Mount Kenya leaders that while political roles had been created and power had been shared, it had done little to change Kenyans’ lives.

As a result, the country’s second-ranking official is turning gears, advocating for a new political dialogue centered on common citizens rather than politicians, as well as a new bottom-up economic model rather than trickle-down economics.

The ethnic political paradigm of it being our community’s turn to lead, as well as trickle-down economics, he believes, are the most significant impediments to the country’s political, economic, and social growth potential.

In terms of the economy, DP Ruto has criticized the country’s economic design, arguing that it has left nearly half of the population poor.

He has positioned his hustler narrative—his self-proposed bottom-up economic model—as a solution to unemployment and a means of achieving upward economic mobility.

The DP who is vying for the presidency in 2022 seeking to replace President Uhuru Kenyatta, says the Mara meeting with Central Kenya leaders has opened the door to more in-depth discussions and engagements to come.

He is also targetting to spread his boardroom dealings to other regions in the country.

At the meeting with central Kenya leaders, they agreed on a process of engagement with farmers, entrepreneurs, traders, cooperatives, and profit-making sectors, which he said will culminate in a national economic charter that embodies Kenyans’ aspirations and commitments at the grassroots, especially hustlers.