It's a shoe in: Ruto's reign will be defined by the flying missile

Before we pontificate about the unidentified flying object that landed, rather gently, close to the face of Prezzo Bill Ruto last Sunday, splashing dust and dirt, I must confess it was an effective communication tool.

I mean, it was unscripted and completely unexpected and it managed to stop Prezzo Ruto in his tracks as he harped on his favourite leitmotif: “tupunguze gharama ya…” He left the sentence hanging, because the missile had delivered what his speech could not counter: life has been hard for the citizens, no matter the sugar-coating.

Migori Women Rep Fatima Mohammed says the shoe flew off someone’s foot and floated in the air, following a gentle press from the youthful crowd that kept surging closer and closer to greet Prezzo Ruto, because they love him so.

I am sure the people of Migori have gentler ways of expressing their affection, even though flying a shoe may well be one of the gestures. And from a communicational point of view, this is definitely a shoe in: The Ruto’s presidency, the now and the future, will be defined by that slow-moving but well-aimed missile in the shape of a torn, dusty shoe that nearly landed in his face.

And for once, Prezzo Ruto’s arms that puncture in the air with so much gusto were in the right place at the right time: one arm stopped the shoe from touching Prezzo’s face, and it wasn’t going to be gentle.

I heard the government has left no foot unturned as they sought to establish the circumstances under which the shoe left its solid grounding to float in the air, and conducted a parade by getting hundreds of young men to try the offending shoe.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Late Cheluget's son threatens to sue Ruto over Narok land dispute
• 
  No More Fear
• 
  Court to determine whether Gachagua is reinstated as deputy president or...
• 
  Ruto hands over 47 disease surveillance vehicles to counties

Such an endeavour, quite frankly, would be pointless. First off, it’d be near impossible to know who wore the shoe in the first place, assuming it was ferried in for the specific purpose of floating it in the air, just to mock Prezzo Ruto’s designer shoes.

And since the shoe had acquired a rather irregular shape, from the natural processes of ageing and lengthy usage, it is unlikely it would fit its original owner.

I suspect Prezzo Ruto could have been more upset had he known that such arsenals are potent political tools. I’m not sure his PhD research included comparative cultural studies. In certain contexts, hurling such a missile is considered the highest form of madharau, because shoes venture in unsanitary spaces.

Once upon-not-too-long ago, former US Prezzo George W Bush mastered the art of ducking shoes because they flew in his direction often enough, as he adjudicated over the war in the Gulf over a fictitious claim that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Ordinary folks get quite upset over such lies.

I don’t know if the people of Migori, or specifically, the person whose shoe came off and floated towards Prezzo Ruto had ill motivations or intent.

I am persuaded that Prezzo Ruto should accept and move on. The unidentified object that floated so close to his face, and basically showed him dust was a torn shoe that revealed the lengths that its owner had walked to make it to the rally. He didn’t mean to hurt him.

And since that shoe could become a potent symbol of his tenure, how about its adoption as a party symbol, now that he seldom displays the wheelbarrow to champion the downtrodden? I’d go as far as suggesting that the person, whether young or old, male or female, whose shoe came off should be hired as a communications advisor.

My reason is simple. He or she has succeeded where so many have failed in defining the Ruto presidency. This is despite the growing layers of advisors, even advisors are now allowed to hire their own advisors.