President William Ruto is becoming more desperate by the day, going by what he did in Kirinyaga County on Monday.
The president, who was supposed to be on a development tour in the region, ended up hiring goons and hecklers from Nairobi to cheer him on.
Hundreds of school buses were seen travelling from Nairobi to Kirinyaga on Sunday night, packed with people brought in to at least cheer the President and create the impression and optics that he is still loved in the Mt. Kenya region.
The sight of those buses ferrying crowds raised eyebrows among locals who wondered why the President needed to import supporters from the capital when he was supposedly on a tour to showcase his development record.
Since the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in October 2024, selling Ruto in the Mt Kenya region has become akin to selling pork meat in a mosque in Saudi Arabia.
The region, which once overwhelmingly voted for Ruto in 2022, has turned cold towards him. Gachagua, who hails from the region, was seen as the bridge between Ruto and the Mt Kenya vote bloc. His removal from office left a bitter taste in the mouths of many residents who felt their voices had been silenced.
With the President knowing very well that, without the vote-rich Mt. Kenya region in 2027, he is minced meat, he is trying every move to show Kenyans that he is still loved there. The optics are clear. He needs to project an image of popularity and acceptance, even if it means paying people to show up at his events.
On Monday, hundreds of school buses ferried crowds to Kirinyaga County to create exactly that impression. Videos have since emerged showing the long convoy of buses making their way into the county. But many Kenyans on social media were quick to call out the president’s desperation. They questioned why a sitting president would need to hire people to cheer him instead of letting his development record speak for itself.
The move has sparked a wave of criticism and mockery online, with many saying that the President is clearly worried about his political future. As the 2027 election draws closer, Ruto’s team is clearly pulling all the stops, but such tactics may end up doing more harm than good. The people of Mt. Kenya are watching, and they are not easily fooled.
Here is the video
https://twitter.com/KenyanSays/status/2069002233773981932/video/1
