Ruto’s New Plan to Capture Nairobi

By Gor Ogutu

Nairobi is a prized political jewel for many reasons. It is the heartbeat of the country, where the gravitas and political pulse of the nation is felt. Whoever has any significant political say in Nairobi can easily build sway across the country. For DP Ruto, he knows this only too well.

”The youth are in problems because their hustle is in trouble,” DP William Ruto remarked recently at a gathering inside his Karen residence on Thursday July 9, 2020. His audience was scores of attentive Nairobi City youth, drawn from struggling slum areas where small scale business is a daily way of life.

Nairobi is a prized political jewel for many reasons. It is the heartbeat of the country, where the gravitas and political pulse of the nation is felt. Whoever has any significant political say in Nairobi can easily build sway across the country. For DP Ruto, he knows this only too well.

It was dubbed the mother of political duels. However upon failing to capture the Kibra seat for former Harambee Stars footballer McDonald Mariga, the self-styled “Hustler”, The Times has learnt, went back to the drawing board and has re-emerged with a revamped strategy to win some love in the city ahead
of 2022.

The DP is now leaving nothing to chance and has gone out of his way to build unprecedented economic political alliances with city youth groups and small scale traders, hoping to cement a political base for himself around the City that can propel his quest for State House in 2022.

The Nairobi vote is always hotly contested. Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is the only other politician in the city who earned himself an enviable chunk of votes in Nairobi in 2017.

Nairobi City County voted for the DP’s political nemesis ODM leader Raila Odinga in the 2017 polls, a pattern the DP is keenly looking to reverse. He has embarked on concerted grassroots political mobilization efforts around the City.

“The Deputy President is presently focused on promoting youth development programs in and around Nairobi City in an initiative dubbed “Hustle Yetu”. Hustle Yetu targets and supports youth and small scale business people around the City,” says Ruto ally and former Nairobi senatorial aspirant on the ODM ticket Chapia Chapia Bukachi.

The new charm offensive to win Nairobi by the DP targets multiple regions and also includes celebrities and pop stars affiliated to his political camp. “We have so far carried out economic empowerment activities in Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, Westlands, Embakasi East, Embakasi West, Embakasi Central and Lang’ata.” Sources close to the DP told this publication.

Political operations of the DP has in recent weeks has extended regions adjacent to the City, as far as Ngong’ Town in Kajiado County.

“The DP has always been in touch with small scale traders in Kajiadoeven prior to the 2017 elections, the recent event at his Karen home where he purchased a Matatu for Ngong’ Boda Boda Sacco is only a continuity of this outreach that has been ongoing,” an ally of the DP told The Times.

We have since established that the DP has now deployed his network of political operatives around the City with instructions to mobilize grassroots support for his 2022 bid, including sponsoring active estate based organizations where he is actively financing organized members to carry out business and entrepreneurship activities.

In attempting to appeal to Nairobi City youth and win support, the DP is now going fully out.

The DP’s new Nairobi strategy is deliberate but calculated. “We have seen a lot of talk alleging that this residence lately hosts a lot of hustlers,” the DP told a recent gathering of members of Ngong’ Boda Boda Sacco he was hosting at his Karen home, perhaps his own admission that he has shifted strategy to building economic political ties with the disadvantaged in the hope that it earns him some political love in return.

“Deputy President William Ruto is a man racing against time. He is fully turning his attention to Nairobi youth ahead of 2022. The DP is beginning to come to terms with the political obstacles he faces, some of which have already come his way in the legislature purge against his trusted lieutenants.

He is attempting to reinvent himself in the City,” says political analyst Prof Hezron Mogambi of the University of Nairobi.

He is silently building what some have referred to as a movement. “The DP is enabling groups such as the Chapia Chapia foundation in Dagoretti North to supply water every week to the people. We target youth groups that need help and we have started helping those in car wash business to acquire washing machines.

Women groups are not left behind either,” a source privy to the “Hustler Yetu” operations told The Times.

“As we carry out all these, we are telling our people to join the Hustler Movement under Dr Ruto as we seek to change lives,” another insider we spoke to revealed. The Times has learnt that the DP’s new strategy to win Nairobi already has active operatives working to convince young voters around the City to buy his political persuasion.

They are distributed in key Nairobi Constituencies: Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, Westlands, Embakasi East, Embakasi West, Embakasi Central and Langata.

“The Hustle Yetu initiative targets 5000 youth from Nairobi, so far above 3000 youth have benefitted,” our sources revealed, adding that about five other Nairobi constituencies are in the pipeline to benefit from the new charm offensive by the DP.

The DP’s political operatives say plans are in the offing to extend the offensive in coming weeks with eyes on Kibra, Mathare, Roysambu, Kasarani, and makadara Constituencies.

The DP is relying on structured leadership to deliver the Nairobi vote for his 2022 bid. In Dagoretti South, he hopes to build on the popularity of comedy king turned politician John Kiarie alias KJ.

The DP is also relying on 2017 surprise winner and Langata MP Nickson Korir to help him hold onto Langata constituency that has already drawn widespread interest from candidates allied to his opponents.

In Dagorretti North, the DP has been distributing water to scarcity-hit residents through the Chapia Chapia foundation of Chapia Bukachi.

In Embakasi East, former Jubilee MP aspirant Francis Mureithi is leading the DP’s city onslaught backed by Francis Masinde, a well-known City political operative.

DP Ruto is also hoping to benefit heavily in the city from the following of pop-star turned politician Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi who represents Starehe Constituency.

In Embakasi West, MP George Theuri, a staunch ally of the DP, has been leading his charges in the new onslaught to recruit city youth into his 2022 bid. Sources told the times he is leading the DP’s City charm offensive in the area together with neighboring MP Major Dong in Embakasi Central.

“As a Luhyia opinion leader in the City, my role is to make sure 70% of Luhya votes in Nairobi county join the Hustle Yetu movement and vote for DP Ruto in 2022,” a source close to the DP who spoke to The Times. This source also revealed there are elaborate plans to turn the Mulembe City voting bloc that has traditionally voted for Raila Odinga in favor of the DP.

His close confidants say Hustle Yetu is being modeled as a national program to attract youth countrywide to the candidature of DP William Ruto. “The DPs plan for youth in Nairobi is to support and uplift livelihoods by promoting small businesses, a model that we hope to replicate countrywide, a source told us.

Clearly, the amount of time and resources he is already deploying means youth in Nairobi will be a central pillar in Ruto’s 2022 State House bid. The city presently has 2.3 million voters with youth constituting more than half.

The DP is in a hurry to sell to them the hustlers brand. His campaign will be hoping to benefit from youthlobby groups and youth numbers in the City. “We already have about 60 lobby groups for the DP in Nairobi City alone.

They include Mulembe Team Nairobi led by Chapia Chapia, Partners for Ruto led byFrancis Masinde, Divas for Ruto by Winnie Abuti, Hustler Nation led by Osca Igaida, Jipange na Hustlerled by Shiuka, Kina Mama na Ruto led by Janet Wekesa and so many others,” an insider told us.

There are also several foundations that have recently been registered to market DP Ruto in the city. The DP’s camp however has to constantly worry about their best talents leaving the camp to rally behind opponents.

“Waruguru is brainwashed by the system and sanitised by Raila just like Waiguru, for their self-interestand not for the people. Waruguru believes lipstick and cosmetics is serving humanity. She committed political suicide ditching DP and will never see parliament again,” DP Ruto ally Chapia Chapia Bukachi fired back when The Times asked about Tanga Tanga’s most recent loss, Laikipia Woman Rep. Cate Waruguru.

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