I spent years campaigning against President William Ruto. That meant spending years studying him -- the man, the leader, the political juggernaut, and most importantly, Ruto the candidate.
Candidacy is a political reality rarely discussed and rarely appreciated for its true value. Elections are not won by manifestos alone; they are won by candidates who embody their message. Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, for instance, lost their respective races not because they lacked policy, but because they failed to inspire, assumed too much, and did not campaign with the urgency required.
Kenya's presidential history shows how much candidacy matters. We began with the towering presence of Jomo Kenyatta, followed by the slogan-heavy personality cult of the Nyayo era. These gave way to the most understated yet economically successful presidency of Mwai Kibaki.
Kibaki was camera-shy, awkward on the stump, and hardly charismatic. Yet he won with the widest margin of the multiparty era. He was not a dazzling candidate, but he didn't need to be. He had Raila Odinga and others dazzling on his behalf. Kibaki's strength was governance; others carried the theatre.
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He was a welcome break from the Moi years -- a president who worked quietly, spoke sparingly, and delivered economic stability while letting politics swirl around him. The country adjusted to competence over spectacle.
Then came the Uhuru Kenyatta-William Ruto partnership. Young, energetic, controversial, and formidable campaigners, they turned their ICC troubles into a rallying cry, unified their bases, mastered messaging, and embraced social media at scale. They were not just candidates; they were a performance.
And this is where one truth became impossible to ignore: William Ruto is an exceptional candidate.
For years it seemed Kenya had two presidents. Ruto positioned himself as Uhuru's equal partner -- loyal, visible, omnipresent. He invested time building emotional capital in regions that were not historically his. He learned the language, the culture, and the anxieties of voters. This was not a 2022 strategy. It began in 2013.
He saw the next election early and ran toward it long before anyone else had laced their shoes.
Ruto campaigned in the shadow of his boss without overstepping, carefully accumulating political credit. His message was disciplined, his brand consistent, his work ethic relentless. When tensions emerged within government, voters did not abandon him; many abandoned his boss. That is the power of candidate discipline.
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The state itself could not outpace Ruto the campaigner. His talking points were simple and repeatable. He showed up daily. He shook every hand available to him. He danced, prayed, sang, and projected accessibility. He made politics feel intimate.
Raila built coalitions. Ruto built a family. Supporters felt seen, assigned roles, and emotionally invested. He was not distant power; he was the hustler next door on the brink of success.
He worked from dawn to midnight. He embodied his message until the message and the man were indistinguishable. "Bottom-up" was not a slogan; it was a performance sustained for nearly a decade. He turned insults into identity and identity into momentum.
Ruto ran the perfect campaign because he is, politically speaking, a perfect candidate. Even his opponents privately wished they had someone like him.
As 2026 begins, the opposition must confront a difficult reality: candidate Ruto is returning. While rivals assume protest energy will translate into victory, Ruto is already shaping the narrative. He is campaigning while others are still debating strategy.
He ran with an unknown deputy and won. He ran against a sitting president and won. He absorbs ridicule, flips it into rhythm, and keeps moving. He is fearless, disciplined, and fluent in campaign language.
Two years of demonstrations will not defeat a man whose strength lies in candidacy itself. President Ruto governs; candidate Ruto campaigns. And candidate Ruto remains one of the most formidable political competitors Kenya has ever seen.
The author is a Strategist and Consultant.
