President William Ruto has emerged as a skilled student of his political mentor, Daniel Moi by imitating the methods used by the late second president of Kenya in his 24- year rule.
President Ruto was raised politically by Mzee Moi as one of the leaders of the Kanu party youth group known as YK 92 (Youth for Kanu 1992).
In the nearly three months that he has been in power, President Ruto has given his direction of administration which gives memories of Moi’ s leadership.
The most recent trend that indicates the Kenyan government’s imitation of Moi is a move to give the chiefs greater power at the grassroots.
In Kanu’s party administration, Moi gave the regional administration officials a lot of power to ensure that Kenyans felt the power of the government.
Each chief had police officers as the government of Kenya Kwanza has announced it will do by giving the local administration officers five police officers and weapons.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki last week said the administration officials will be empowered to implement the laws and policies of the government.
However, fears have spread that the move may return Kenya to the days of Kanu, where chiefs used their power to suppress the rights of citizens under the pretext of enforcing government laws and orders.
Increasing the power of chiefs is against the current Constitution, which has given the police the responsibility of enforcing the law.
Another signal that President Ruto got from Moi which he follows fully is to paint a picture of being a sincere Christian by attending worship every Sunday and cultivating a close relationship with preachers.
President Ruto has been attending church services every sunday that are broadcasted live on the internet and other media. Mzee Moi in his administration was also attending worship services every weekend.
In his administration that lasted between 1978 and 2002, Mzee Moi was careful to weaken the opposition by persuading MPs from other parties to defect and join Kanu.
Soon after the August 9 general election, President Ruto began efforts to weaken the opposition by persuading some opposition MPs and those elected to join the government.
President Ruto also seems to be using a foreign policy similar to Moi’s by embracing European and American nations, unlike Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta who strengthened relations with China.
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