Kindiki: It took Kibaki five years to do what Ruto has done so far

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has affirmed his loyalty to President William Ruto, telling off critics urging him to challenge his boss on unpopular policies.

Speaking on Wednesday when he met a delegation from Tharaka Nithi County in Nairobi, Kindiki said a government official cannot “sabotage” the administration they are serving.

“Those telling me to oppose the President like other people are wrong. Maybe they are looking for the wrong person, not me!” the DP said.

“The work of a leader is to guide the people not to listen and support them in saying it. Leadership is not about shouting but showing direction to the citizens and offering solutions.”

He cited the late President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, which he said “faced the most difficult times in his first term and became unpopular” before the then-Head of State dissolved his Cabinet.

“He dissolved his Cabinet and lost a referendum, yet he remains the most consequential former president. President William Samoei Ruto is facing the same challenges and has remained steadfast in his mission to transform Kenya,” Kindiki said.

But Kindiki said Ruto has done much more since his 2022 election than Kibaki did in his first five-year term between 2002 and 2007.

“What President William Samoei Ruto has done in two years, it took Kibaki five years. Ruto is on the right track to improving our economy,” the DP told Tharaka Nithi leaders.

“A good transformative leader is not always popular, but popularity comes at the right time. Let us give President William Samoei Ruto time to deliver.”

Kindiki’s predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua, who was impeached in October, has labelled Ruto’s administration a “one-man show”.

“He wants his way and all those ministers you see there are flower girls. I was the only one who could stand up to him and say, hey boss, this can’t work,” he said on Monday.

He accused Ruto of being “intolerant” and “dictatorial” in the face of the former DP’s purported protest against some of the policies the President wanted to implement such as unpopular tax hikes which eventually sparked deadly nationwide street protests.

“It is a praise-and-worship choir and I could not fit in it,” said Gachagua.