Waziri Ruku: Giant who talks big and might just run every ministry

Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku when he donates food staff,mattress and house hold item to victims floods in Mathere Area 4,on 23rd April 2025. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard] Growing up, Geoffrey Ruku, the brand-new secondhand Waziri for Public Service, must have ventured into the bushes to fetch a log of firewood big enough to make a favourite delicacy in the region-githeri. Only then would he have lived up to his second name, Ruku, which translates to the largest and driest piece of firewood, used to make food that needed temperatures hotter than hell to cook. With greater power, quite literally, comes greater responsibility. It would have been unfair to send normal-sized children to fetch 'ruku' when a giant existed among them. If Ruku wasn't as colossal as we've come to know him, then his domestic chores, fetching firewood, would explain why he grew so big. He is so towering among peers that he looks like an overgrown primary school pupil among nursery kids. When talking to him, most people have their necks stretched out like someone taking a pill. By the time Ruku is done with his tenure at the ministry, subordinates would likely have evolved long necks, with heads constantly facing the sky. We don't have the benefit of knowing why the mono among ministers was named after a piece of wood, but we can agree that it was a befitting name. Sickened by former Waziri Justin Muturi's constant injections, President William Ruto ventured into the dense thickets that surround Murima and emerged with one of the few men who can tower above Muturi.(Muturi originally means a man who forges iron to fashion out tools). He needed a man who could light and sustain fires with his mouth, burning everything in his path. And what a discovery Bwana Kasongo made in Ruku, plucked from Muturi's Democratic Party. The former Mbeere North lawmaker possibly understands Muturi's strengths and weaknesses. Muturi recently implied he mentored Ruku, which makes the latter an ideal counter, as he could hit where it hurts the most. The most important task, check-mating Muturi, requires a person with a weapon for a mouth. Ruku boasts of decibels that would rival those produced by Rongai nganyas, an important trait if one is to be recruited as a court poet. Had he not been a Mheshimiwa, Ruku would have thrived as a pitcher in one of Kenya's noisy markets. Imagine Ruku, in his hoarse voice and unmistakable Mbeere accent, shouting: "Shati Mia! Mia, Shati!" Nothing compares. Ruku, with his talent for talking and talking some more, has hit the ground running. Or is it talking? Recently sworn into office, he chose to skip orientation week, which would have helped him know what his mandate entails. Doubtless, the most significant duty is preventing Bwana Mkuu's fortunes from dwindling, but waziris have been known to act like they were doing the most serious job. Ruku is learning fast. This past week, he was breaking ministerial barriers, venturing into his colleagues' dockets. In the wake of a devastating flood that badly affected Nairobi's informal settlements, he formed a "multi-agency team" to fix the capital's drainage. Noticing the excitement in Ruku's face, his juniors likely decided against clarifying to him that he was the Public Service Cabinet Secretary, not Public Works! They may soon regret their omission, especially if Ruku, swelling with fire in his belly, thinks he is the Waziri for everything that bears the name 'public,' such as public toilets. Perhaps he even believes himself to be the minister for everything, evidenced in directives issued to different national and county institutions on fixing Nairobi's drainage and relocating affected families. The gigantic waziri would later encroach on Interior Waziri Kipchumba Murkomen's territory, promising reforms in issuing police clearance certificates and passports. He did not stop there. He had something to say about Kenyans yet to collect driver's licenses, which falls squarely under the Transport docket. Someone seems to be taking the collective government approach too seriously. The last waziri to play this card was former Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha, who "transferred" a senior police officer but later learnt that she was not all-powerful, after all. Looking at himself in the mirror, the silver fox must be convinced he can handle everyone else's dockets. He must believe that size matters in complex undertakings. Before he was named waziri, Ruku served as the mheshimiwa for Mbeere North. In Bunge, he earned a name for strange law proposals, including attempting to regulate demonstrations. Ruku proposed a bill seeking to prevent protests on highways and other public spaces, arguing they disrupted public order. Bunge shot down the bill. In Parliament, he served as a Bass Two member of the Kasongo United Choir, seeing and hearing no evil against the Executive. He dabbled as a tea-sampler in the outside world, ever at hand to attend TV breakfast panel discussions.

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