Nairobi, Kenya — NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – from kenya The political term of the moment is “hooliganism”, often used by national leaders to express irritation at gangs that intimidate people whose political activities they oppose.
supporters of President William RutoJoe, who is seeking a second term in elections next year, uses the phrase to describe political violence that authorities will not tolerate. Opposition figures have used it to condemn what they see as Ruto’s aggressive – and covert – campaign tactics.
At times it may seem as if hooliganism is being met with hooliganism, an unwelcome turn of events in this East African country where the competition for political power is becoming more vigorous and fraught with a sense of danger.
Many Kenyans doubt Ruto’s commitment to the religious values he espoused before taking power in 2022.
Ruto vowed to create a kind of born-again Christian nation that fears God and is at peace with itself.
But as president, he appears to have benefited from the chaos that is now a national crisis as religious and political leaders warn that political violence threatens democratic gains. His critics charge that such anarchy grows partly Ruto’s steadfast style of leadership.
“Hooligans, hooligans, hooligans,” preacher Wilfred Lai shouted during a recent Sunday sermon, in which he expressed regret for what happened in Kenya. “To everyone who wants to rule this country in this way, I speak as a prophet of God: you will fall.”
He said, “You cannot use goons and you are telling us that you are taking us to a better place. You are a liar and the truth is not in you.”
Although Lai, pastor of a megachurch in the coastal city of Mombasa, did not mention Ruto by name, many Kenyans suspect he had the president in mind when he delivered the sermon, parts of which were shared online.
Lai is among the evangelicals who embraced Ruto when he was vice president and was seeking to replace President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose support he had lost. At the time, Ruto was widely seen as a devout politician.
Ruto said he was fighting for the underprivileged, for those whose manual labor puts food on the table. The leader – who is nicknamed “Nabi”, Kiswahili for “Prophet of God” – said he had risen to such a high position in politics by the grace of God, unlike rivals whom he portrayed as entitled sons of political dynasties. ruto won a tough race.
However, for many of his supporters, Ruto changed as soon as he won the presidency.
Although he continued to go to church on Sundays, some noticed that he stopped carrying a Bible and no longer quoted from it regularly. His decision to demolish a chapel within the Statehouse complex—which was to be replaced by a modern facility—was criticized by some as self-aggrandizement. Others saw betrayal in Ruto aggressive income tax measures months after his inauguration.
thousands of youth took to the streets In the capital, Nairobi, officials were forced to withdraw some tax proposals, but public anger was not quelled. Ruto later faced more opposition A blogger died in police custody.
Although the protests failed to remove Ruto, they left him wounded and determined to show strength. While his position remains uncertain ahead of next year’s vote, some of his opponents believe he is clever and will still be difficult to defeat.
after the protesters stormed the parliamentary building In 2024, Ruto vowed that this would never happen again. Last year, confronting protesters who held placards that read “Ruto must go,” the president urged police break the hands and legs of the protesters And said he wasn’t going anywhere.
“If we continue on this path, we will have no country,” Ruto said in a televised address. “The country belongs to all of us. And if there is no country for William Ruto, there is no country for you.”
Some saw this as a veiled threat, and some opposition figures suspected that gangs operating at opposition events were sponsored by the state.
“We must, collectively, say no to the new specter of thuggery, the new norm,” Kalonzo Musyoka, a prominent opposition leader, told a local broadcaster. “The goons are very well known. So if anyone pretends that this is the work of a united opposition, he would really be ashamed even before God that this is state sponsored.”
People armed with knives and guns can disrupt political rallies or prevent them from starting. While opposition figures accuse authorities of instigating the violence, Interior Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen recently warned hooligans that “since the politicians will not be with you when you commit crimes, we will come for you.”
Ruto’s colleague Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said last month that “a culture of hooliganism has no place in a democratic society.”
In a notable incident last month, an opposition lawmaker from western Kenya was manhandled at a restaurant by people who questioned his political views. Senator Godfrey Osotsi’s injuries required hospitalization. After this attack, protests started in his home area and religious leaders condemned it.
Ruto has not spared church leaders – who have influence over entire social networks – in his quest to retain power. His choice of where to pray on a Sunday may be unexpected. Sometimes church leaders, from Methodists to Pentecostal pastors, gather around him at the Statehouse.
Other religious leaders are critical, incensed by the recent spat between Ruto and his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who fell out with the president, was impeached and is now the leader of the Wantum movement to make Ruto president for one term.
Their exchange can be toxic.
In March, when Gachagua called Ruto a thief who would steal from a funeral home, the President called Gachagua a “cold-blooded pig” who had stolen from his brother.
A few days later, the head of the local conference of Catholic primates, Archbishop Maurice Muhatiya, rebuked Ruto and Gacagua at a gathering of bishops. “Disagreement is fine, but insulting each other in public is disrespectful,” Muhtiya said. “Give us a break.”
Kenyan elections are often tumultuous. There was a violent gang, known as the Mungiki, who played a role in Deadly violence after the 2007 elections.
This time there is a widespread sense that much is at stake, with a President who will not back down. Some worry that Ruto is moving towards authoritarianism, unlike his recent predecessors.
KenyattaThe fourth President of Kenya is a cheerful man who endured internal opposition to Ruto while working together. Mwai KibakiThe man Kenyatta replaced was a gentleman who once called a press conference to deny that he had a second wife.
Christine Mungai, a Nairobi-based freelance writer, said Kenya’s current president is different, and the gangsterism is “a product of the gangster theology” of which Ruto is the high priest.
Ruto, he said, has mastered “how to play public piety” while also “making everyone’s life difficult”.
It is unclear who will be Ruto’s main election opponent. It could be Musyoka or former Internal Affairs Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i. While Gachagua may be ineligible for the presidency following impeachment, his support will be crucial for the opposition.
Karuti Kanyinga, a Kenyan development scholar and visiting professor at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study in South Africa, said if Ruto and opposition figures do not tone down the rhetoric, “the election is going to be very bloody.” “Everyone will have their own security gang.”
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The Associated Press’s religion coverage receives support from the AP Collaboration With The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
