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Zakayo’s Kingdom: Plunder, Empty Promises, And The Great Kenyan Heist

BY Steve Biko Wafula · October 3, 2024 02:10 pm

It’s astonishing, isn’t it? How a man who claimed to be a hustler championing the cause of the poor has turned out to be the grandmaster of a scheme designed to enrich the wealthy while burying the poor and the middle class under piles of policies that make no sense. William Ruto, affectionately known by his critics as “Zakayo” (for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who’s cracked open a Bible), has mastered the art of talking about lifting up the masses while ensuring they sink deeper into misery. Let’s take a closer look at the carefully constructed house of cards that is his leadership.

The Social Health Authority (SHA) sounds great on paper. Universal healthcare for all! Who wouldn’t want that? But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that SHA is nothing more than a cash cow for Ruto’s cronies. Contracts for supplying equipment and services will inevitably land in the laps of the politically connected, while the masses are left with ill-equipped hospitals, indifferent doctors, and prescriptions for paracetamol—if they’re lucky. SHA is a brilliant idea if you’re part of Ruto’s inner circle, not if you’re a Kenyan trying to afford basic healthcare.

Ruto’s housing levy is another sparkling example of his benevolent leadership—or so he wants you to believe. He’s convinced Kenyans that taxing the already overburdened population will solve the housing crisis. Sure, the rich developers get to build their skyscrapers and luxury apartments, but what does the average Kenyan get? A dream of affordable housing that’s about as tangible as a mirage in the Sahara. The only people moving into these new homes are the ones who can already afford two or three. The rest of us? Well, we get to pay taxes and hope for a future that never arrives.

Read Also: Kenya’s Silent Genocide: How Corruption, Incompetence, Conflict Of Interest Are Killing Us Every Day

Meanwhile, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is one of the most confusing, disorganized, and poorly executed education reforms in recent history. For a country struggling with unemployment and poverty, you’d think the priority would be to strengthen education. But no, Ruto’s administration thought it would be more fun to roll out a new curriculum without a clear roadmap, leaving parents and teachers scrambling to make sense of it. CBC is like a puzzle with missing pieces, and of course, those missing pieces can only be found in the pockets of the wealthy. They’re the only ones who can afford the additional materials, textbooks, and private tutors required to navigate this mess.

Then we have university funding—or rather, the lack thereof. Public universities, once the pride of Kenya, are now on the verge of collapse, thanks to funding cuts. The government, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that education should be a luxury, not a right. Students are left to fend for themselves, taking out loans they’ll spend the rest of their lives repaying. But don’t worry, the elites aren’t affected. Their children are safely tucked away in prestigious institutions abroad, while Kenyan universities crumble. It’s socialism for the middle class and starvation for everyone else.

Ruto’s leadership can best be described as a magician’s act. With one hand, he waves a flag of hope and prosperity for all Kenyans, and with the other, he quietly picks your pocket. But unlike a magician, there’s no applause at the end of his performance. Only despair. The SHA, housing levy, CBC, and university funding cuts are all part of a grand illusion designed to make Kenyans believe that progress is being made, when in reality, we’re being robbed blind.

The philosophy behind Ruto’s leadership is clear: Plunder for the rich, socialism for the middle class, and bare minimum for the poor. But what’s truly remarkable is how many Kenyans still don’t see it. Perhaps it’s because Ruto’s administration has mastered the art of distraction. When things get tough, they throw out a new buzzword—like “bottom-up economy”—and suddenly, everyone forgets that they’re being looted. It’s like watching someone steal your wallet, but instead of getting angry, you applaud because they gave you a great speech while doing it.

Take the housing levy, for instance. Ruto has convinced the middle class that they are part of a great national project to build affordable housing for all. But let’s be honest: this isn’t about providing homes for the poor. It’s about giving Ruto’s rich friends more opportunities to build and sell luxury apartments. The housing levy is nothing more than a glorified tax break for developers, with the added bonus of making the rest of us pay for it. And in case you’re wondering, no, you won’t be getting a luxury apartment. You’ll be lucky if you get a crumbling bedsitter with no water.

CBC is another example of Ruto’s “visionary” leadership. He’s decided that instead of fixing the broken education system, we should just create a new one—without any planning, of course. The result? Parents are spending money they don’t have on materials their children don’t need for a curriculum that doesn’t work. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite are watching from the sidelines, sending their children to private schools where CBC doesn’t exist. It’s a cruel joke, but the punchline is that the joke’s on us.

Then there’s the SHA. Universal healthcare? More like universal theft. The idea that SHA is supposed to provide healthcare for all is laughable when you realize that the people in charge of it are more interested in lining their own pockets than in helping Kenyans. Contracts for medical supplies, hospital renovations, and staffing will all go to the politically connected, while ordinary Kenyans continue to die from preventable diseases. SHA isn’t about health; it’s about wealth—specifically, the wealth of Ruto’s cronies.

University funding has become a nightmare. It’s as if Ruto’s government is actively trying to destroy public universities. By cutting funding, they’ve ensured that only the wealthy can afford higher education, while the rest of us are left to scramble for scraps. Meanwhile, Ruto’s children and the children of his friends are getting the best education money can buy—abroad, of course. Because why bother fixing Kenyan universities when you can send your kids to Ivy League schools?

This government has mastered the art of looting while pretending to govern. Every policy, every initiative, every “reform” is designed to enrich the few at the expense of the many. And the worst part? They’ve convinced a significant portion of the population that this is all for their benefit. It’s like Stockholm syndrome on a national scale. We’ve fallen in love with our captors, believing that the same people who are robbing us blind are the ones who will save us.

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Ruto and his cabal of evil men and women have no interest in the welfare of the people. Their only goal is to consolidate power and wealth for themselves, while throwing just enough scraps to the poor to keep them quiet. The middle class, meanwhile, is squeezed from all sides, paying for policies that don’t benefit them, while the rich laugh all the way to the bank.

The solution? This government needs to go. And not tomorrow, not in the next election, but now. Kenyans cannot afford to wait any longer while Ruto and his cronies continue to loot the country. It’s time for a national awakening, a movement to reclaim the country from the grip of these thieves. If we don’t act now, we risk losing everything—our education, our healthcare, our homes, our future.

Kenya deserves better than Zakayo’s kingdom. We deserve leaders who will govern with integrity, who will put the needs of the people above their own greed, and who will work to create a future where all Kenyans have a fair chance at success. But as long as Ruto and his cronies remain in power, that future will remain nothing more than a distant dream.

Read Also: Ruto’s Theater of Corruption: Preaching Water While Guzzling Wine

Steve Biko is the CEO OF Soko Directory and the founder of Hidalgo Group of Companies. Steve is currently developing his career in law, finance, entrepreneurship and digital consultancy; and has been implementing consultancy assignments for client organizations comprising of trainings besides capacity building in entrepreneurial matters. He can be reached on: +254 20 510 1124 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

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