Home » How 2022 presidential race is shaping up to a battle between hustlers and dynasties

How 2022 presidential race is shaping up to a battle between hustlers and dynasties

by Enock Ndayala
William Ruto has lashed out at the Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga saying he lacks the plan to transform the country.

The battle lines for the 2022 General Election have evidently been drawn between what Deputy President William Ruto often describes as ‘hustlers versus dynasties’, or the hoi polloi versus the power brokers of our generation.

Although his narrative has been termed divisive and polarising, the move by Kenya’s First families to rally behind former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has brought the debate to the fore.

Raila, the son of Kenya’s first vice president, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, is preparing to make a fifth stab at the presidency in 2022, after failed attempts in 1997, 2007, 2013, and 2017.

His bid has attracted the support of President Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first head of state.

How 2022 presidential race is shaping up to a battle between hustlers and dynasties
The battle lines for the 2022 General Election have evidently been drawn between what Deputy President William Ruto often describes as ‘hustlers versus dynasties’, or the hoi polloi versus the power brokers of our generation. Photo: Raila Odinga/Twitter.

Although the two were arch political rivals, having wrestled each other for the country’s top seat in 2013 and 2017, they buried the hatchet on March 9, 2018, and sealed a political truce dubbed the handshake.

“When we came together, didn’t we experience peace? So where is the problem? Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want that work to continue? It is up to you. Will you make wise choices? Let us see how you will do it,” Uhuru told Kibra residents on September 30, 2021.

Raila’s presidential bid is also being supported by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and businessman Jimmy Kibaki, the sons of former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki, respectively.

Although Gideon is also eyeing the same seat, the son of Kenya’s second president has been speaking highly of the former premier and hinting at working with him in the upcoming contest. Photo: Gideon Moi/Facebook

Although Gideon is also eyeing the same seat, the son of Kenya’s second president has been speaking highly of the former premier and hinting at working with him in the upcoming contest.

The young Moi, who heads the independence party, KANU,  is a childhood friend of President Uhuru and reports indicate the two are likely to team up and back the ODM leader in order to defeat Ruto, who appears to be leading the race to State House thus far.

Outspoken KANU Secretary General Nick Salat has on several occasions hinted at forming an alliance with Raila and other like-minded politicians to face off with Ruto’s team, the hustler nation movement.

Outspoken KANU Secretary General Nick Salat has on several occasions hinted at forming an alliance with Raila and other like-minded politicians to face off with Ruto’s team, the hustler nation movement. Photo: Citizen TV.

This is not the first time the KANU SG is warming up for Raila’s presidential bid. In 2017, Salat ardently supported the NASA coalition until very late in the day when the leadership of KANU decided to pull out and back Uhuru’s Jubilee Party.

The SG is best remembered for his “Ndani Ndani Ndaaani!” declarations that he made during NASA rallies to affirm that KANU was part and parcel of the coalition.

Currently, KANU is part of One Kenya Alliance (OKA), which also brings together Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC party, Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper, and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s  FORD Kenya party.

Reports indicate Moi’s outfit has been lobbying for the inclusion of Raila as one of the OKA principals.

Reports indicate Moi’s outfit has been lobbying for the inclusion of Raila as one of the OKA principals.

“When the President finally makes his choice known, we want to be within the circles and as a party; we have studied the dynamics and we can see where to bet for 2022,” Salat said in a past public address.

Apart from the First families, the ODM leader is also enjoying the support of Mt Kenya Foundation, a group of business tycoons and influential leaders known for bankrolling campaigns for senior politicians eyeing top seats.

The group has promised to change the narrative that Raila was unelectable in Mt Kenya and present him as a peace-loving and development-conscious leader.

The group has promised to change the narrative that Raila was unelectable in Mt Kenya and present him as a peace-loving and development-conscious leader. Photo: Raila Odinga/Twitter.

The former premier’s name has been tainted for a long time by Mt Kenya leaders, who have been citing his involvement in street protests to portray him as a destructive and anti-business leader.

Although the businessmen also made the OKA team and declared it had not picked a preferred presidential candidate yet, all signs point to a possibility of settling on Raila.

“Nobody ever thought that you (Raila) could climb Mt. Kenya and climb down without slipping,” stated Peter Munga, Mt. Kenya Foundation Chairman.

Ruto and hustlers

On the other hand, DP Ruto has been meeting small-scale business people and promising to transform their lives through his bottom-up economic model.

On the other hand, DP Ruto has been meeting small-scale business people and promising to transform their lives through his bottom-up economic model.

He has identified himself with the less fortunate and the downtrodden citizens languishing at the bottom of the country’s economy.

“At the heart of the revolutionary Bottom-Up Economic Development Approach is a deliberate scheme to unleash the full potential of small enterprises through the creation of a friendly investment environment.

This will drive their growth, generating more jobs and income to millions of Kenyans struggling to make a living,” Ruto said as he popularised his presidential bid in Kajiado county

The second in command rubbished Raila’s meeting with Mt Kenya Foundation as a union of tycoons hatching a power plot to protect their wealth through the former premier.

“When you have meetings with wealthy people so that government can protect their wealth, you say it is good, but when we also have meetings with the poor people so that we can help them make wealth, we must also say that it is good, don’t bring us those class war narratives,” Ruto said.

The DP has refused to court regional kingpins to join his hustler nation team and is instead speaking to the people directly.

According to him, time is ripe for the low and middle-class citizens to take over the leadership of the country.

Although a flirty rich man, the DP has refused to associate himself with the rich and has conveniently chosen to hang around with the jobless youth, who form a huge percentage of registered voters.

“When I told them that the 2022 government will be formed by the hustlers, they thought it was a joke. Now, they have found themselves on the wrong side and are busy in boardrooms seeking partners to form alliances with,” said the DP.

The battle lines have clearly been drawn and the 2022 narrative is going to revolve around Ruto’s constituency of hustlers and Raila’s class of power brokers.

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