The godfather: Why leaders are compelled to 'work with President'

A meeting between President William Ruto and Siaya Governor James Orengo yielded pledges for multi-billion-shilling investments, bringing to the fore Kenya’s brand of politics, which has historically pegged development on political patronage.

It is a cancer that devolution, designed to decentralise power to Kenya’s 47 counties, was aimed to cure. Many regions, whose leaders differed with the occupant of the State House, have faced marginalisation, with those led by the master’s friend enjoying what has now come to be known as “goodies.”

In the more than two-and-a-half years he has been President, Dr Ruto has faced accusations of encouraging this state of affairs. Indeed, he frequently meets regional delegations ahead of planned tours, which result in an announcement of investment in development projects. 

Evidence shows that Ruto is not entirely guilty of advancing this kind of patronage, as he has commissioned projects in areas that did not vote for him and which are yet to embrace him. As the Raila-led opposition prepared for anti-government protests in January 2023, the President had already toured Nyanza, commissioning projects and promising more.

When the two shook hands last July, there was an expectation that Nyanza would receive a windfall. The projects have come in the three visits Ruto has made to Nyanza, with the promise of more coming out of Thursday’s meeting at the State House.

They include a Sh2.5 billion pledge for markets, Sh1.6 billion for electricity connection, and Sh1 billion for blue economy infrastructure.

Orengo, who termed his engagement with Ruto a “constructive dialogue”, has been vocal against pledging allegiance to the Executive to secure projects, insisting development was a right owed to all taxpayers.

That, observers have noted, is the ideal. The reality has been that the national government largely determines the projects to be implemented in the counties.

“Previously, Presidents have traded goodies/development for political support,” said Tom Mboya, a governance consultant. “Unfortunately, that practice remains under the current regime.”

“As a Governor, Orengo has no choice but to engage with the president and national government. He has to work with them to an extent, for the benefit of the county. It does not mean he must acquiesce to certain political interests to ensure development for his people,” said Mboya, who termed the culture “backward.”

Indeed, the Kenya Kwanza administration has often encouraged citizens and politicians in opposition strongholds to “work with the government” to enjoy endless rewards, sparking waves of defections. It was the language former Deputy President Rigathi spoke during his shareholding talk, which, to a great extent, praised the marginalisation of regions that did not vote for Kenya Kwanza.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi have sang this song, too.

“You have seen even areas where the support of this government was not much, but they have put down their pride and are working with the government, and their things are moving,” Kindiki said in February.

His remarks had the effect of validating the assertion that regions only benefit when they are in good terms with the public. Ukambani, for instance, is considered an opposition region, as its senior-most politician, Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, opposes the ‘broad-based’ government.

Ruto has put off a tour of the region, a decision linked to the perception that he could get a hostile reception. Since he ascended into office, his tours of the regions have been the most viable avenue to accessing development projects. And the region’s leaders decry neglect from the government, ostensibly because of their political leaning.

“The projects that are ongoing were launched around the 2017 election season. None is ready,” Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr told the Sunday Standard. “Roads in Kilome, Kaiti and Mbooni are still incomplete. Konza City, which was started by (Mwai) Kibaki and the Thwake dam are incomplete.

The governor also highlighted the Kibwezi-Kitui road, which was started in the last administration and the Emali-Ukia stretch.

“When the Wote housing (scheme) started, we pleaded with them to finish 272 units that stalled in the 2000s. Wote Stadium is still a pipe dream. We have been neglected. Period.”

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka dismissed the promises.

"I'm reliably informed that the Emali-Ukia Road, being an Eastern Africa economic corridor project, requires a presidential consent to get funding from the African Development Bank. When I heard Prof Kindiki say  they have set aside Sh20 million, I realised they are not serious. She20 million cannot even tarmac a kilometre of a class A road," he said.

Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi said the situation was much the same in his county.

“Many areas will be neglected, especially those not in this blood and bread-based government. We will have to wait until our leaders go running to the President or his deputy to get meaningful development. This violates the Constitution, which ensures equity in the distribution of resources,” said Mwangangi, who similarly argued that projects in his county are stalled.

He called out the “empowerment” drives witnessed across various regions as unlikely to yield development.

“No country has developed through Harambees,” he said. “What we are seeing is the distribution of proceeds of theft, corruption and mismanagement of public resources.

Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo said that Ruto was starving counties, not just those from Eastern Kenya.

“If Orengo can negotiate for all counties, the better. Counties have had their funding reduced and revenue disbursements perennially delayed,” said Maanzo. “It is true he has taken away funds from our projects, such as Thwake, which shows that counties are sidelined.”

Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura dismissed the assertions, saying: "The President is balancing development across all regions. In fact if there is a president who has been fair in reaching out to all regions, it's President William Ruto," Mwaura said. "Anyone who claims that sections of the country are neglected is only starting out of this government's outstanding development record that is enviable, having been accomplished for the last 2 two years only. This government is the one that is very purposeful in implementating it's manifesto."

He defended the meetings between the President and county leaders as necessary in identifying areas of priority.
"He has to engage with leaders directly since they are the ones who know what priorities are important to their people," Mwaura added.

Ruto has consistently dispelled this assertion, vowing against sidelining any region for their political inclinations.

A tour of the Ukambani region will likely be preceded by a meeting between the Head of State and the leaders of the respective counties, much like the recent meeting between Ruto and Orengo.

Ian Horsefield, a lawyer who analyses politics, said there was nothing wrong with meetings between leaders of the two levels of government from “an administrative perspective.

“Such meetings would help shape the priorities for the different regions. There is no need to gift a person from Mandera a trench coat when they need a vest,” said Horsefield. “But the intentions behind such meetings, at least from the President’s point of view, have been political. They want to endear themselves to the masses for what they have done.”

University lecturer Charles Ng’ang’a agreed, saying: “In principle, intergovernmental relations and cooperation between county and national governments are essential under the Constitution of Kenya (2010). Article 6(2) underscores the need for consultation and cooperation. Governors engaging with the presidency to push development priorities is normal in a devolved system.”

“The concern arises when such meetings are used as political instruments rather than platforms for equitable service delivery. If access to the president becomes contingent upon political loyalty or sycophancy, it undermines devolution by turning it into conditional rather than autonomous development,” he added.

Gitile Naituli, a professor of leadership and management, argued that such meetings were unnecessary, stating: “The governor should dialogue with members of the County Assembly and reach out to the senator, who will liaise with the national government in Parliament. The meetings are offending the constitutional chain of command.”

He said that many had felt let down by Orengo as they “see him as an idealist”, adding that he may have bowed to political pressure in Siaya.

The language lawmakers from Nyanza allied with the ‘broad-based’ government, such as Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, has been that no President has “done as much for us as Ruto”, further encouraging what Mboya termed a backwards political culture.

The goodies, in this case, include three cabinet slots and other positions in the Executive, as well as other development projects.

In rewarding political loyalty with development projects, Ruto is walking a beaten path. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta had perfected this art and had been accused of only delivering for Nyanza after his March 2018 handshake with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

By 2019, the Raila’s handshake with Uhuru, then only a year old, had yielded projects worth Sh10 billion in Nyanza, with stalled projects resuscitated. And the former President would keep the goodies flowing for Nyanza. Among the projects included the rehabilitation of the Nakuru-Kisumu Railway, which came with an ultramodern railway station in Kisumu, multi-billion water projects and the restoration of the MV Uhuru I vessel.

The late former President Mwai Kibaki also advanced this type of politics. In his memoir, For the Record, Health Cabinet Secretary wrote that he once received a call from the State House about a meeting with the late former First Lady Lucy Kibaki for defending then President Mwai Kibaki in Parliament.

The meeting yielded a 10 km stretch of tarmac in his former Dujis constituency. In a 2023 interview with Peter Kimani, a veteran journalist, author and university professor, Duale said Lucy had called the then-roads principal secretary, directing the construction.

“Today, if you call a Member of Parliament and ask them, ‘What can I do for you in your constituency?’ They will tell you, ‘I need road(s), I need water.’ I had an opportunity as an opposition Member of Parliament to sit with the First Lady. In fact, I didn’t have a plan. If I knew she was calling me, I could have had a long list of projects,” he stated.

“In 2010… I was one of the biggest supporters of devolution because development was pegged to patronage. Even today, development is pegged to patronage to some extent. This is a currency in Africa, but devolution really saved us. But even in the counties, development is pegged on patronage because governors decide where development should go,” added Duale.

This patronage brand of politics can be traced to the colonialist administration, which rewarded collaborators. Founding President Jomo Kenyatta inherited it in the land sector, awarding allies and cronies large swathes. The controversial land allocation policies would live on in the entirety of the Kanu regime.