Why Ruto Must Go

William "NSSF plots" Ruto, the current minister of agriculture and ODM kingpin.

How times change.

The other day it was Kimunya and now the troubles of agriculture Minister William Ruto are mounting even as some parliamentarians led by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale are preparing a censure motion against him in parliament. You will remember that the last censure motion caused one Amos Kimunya to reluctantly let go of a job that he had began to view almost as a birthright.

Actually it amazes me why it has taken so long for somebody to come up with the idea of sending Ruto home. The agriculture ministry made a very bad move that will result in over 10 million Kenyans being faced with starvation. Whether Ruto was personally involved or not, he must surely take responsibility for what went on in his turf (how can he not?). Who else can be held responsible other than him? Fascinatingly this is the gist of what Assistant Finance Minister Oburru Odinga has said. It also suggests that this is the position of the Prime Minister which seems to have been further confirmed by the fact that he has ordered an audit by a foreign firm on the goings on in the national cereals Board to cover the period from July last year to date. Some political analysts say that the PM will not be sad when Ruto goes. But that is besides the point. The issue here is that Amos Kimunya stepped aside to facilitate investigations into the Grand Regency saga last year, albeit under considerable pressure. So why should Ruto be treated any different?

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What Kimunya did was bad but what Ruto is alleged to have done is tragically terrible, because it will result in a few Kenyans dying the most terrible death—by starvation.

For those still in the dark over what the maize scandal is all about, let me explain. The Agricultural ministry authorized the Cereals Board to sell maize to brokers who in turn sold it to millers at inflated prices thus creating both a shortage and also causing the prices of maize flour (a critical staple for Kenyans) to suddenly skyrocket. Ordinarily the Cereals board should have just sold the commodity directly to millers, as it is the transaction was such that in many cases the millers ended up collecting the maize themselves from the Cereals board but after paying an inflated price for it to middle-men who added no value whatsoever and seemed to have been introduced as a way for somebody to make a lot of money from the transaction at the cost of ordinary Kenyans.

Sources have mentioned two names to me of people who were the main architects behind the maize scum. They are Cyrus Jirongo and Ababu Nwamamba. Little wonder that the latter used brilliant diversionary tactics of introducing other prominent names to divert attention away from Mr Ruto, probably fearing that too close a scrutiny of the scandal would lead to the unearthing of his own name.

Ruto must now resign to pave way for serious investigations into this maize scandal. I am afraid there is really no other option here.

Interestingly, looking into Ruto’s past, the man made a lot of money being allocated and then selling off public property in broker deals fairly similar to what went on at the Cereals Board.

So do people really ever change? You tell me.

P.S. I have abandoned my predictions on the future of Kenya for now. Apart from upsetting my dear readers, a few believe that I am using voodoo or witchcraft to make these predictions. This is of course NOT TRUE. My predictions are all based on analyzing all the information I receive daily (both what is in the public domain and what is NOT). Of course many readers here do not want to hear about any kind of chaos happening in Kenya. Actually neither do I, but what do you expect as impunity continues even as the suffering of Kenyans increases? I will of course continue with my usual hints at what the future holds in my normal posts.

P.S. It seems that Raila Odinga is a liar. His father and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya were NOT friends. What was Raila trying to achieve with his remarks at Pamela Mboya’s funeral? Jaramogi and Mboya were sworn political enemies? That is the truth.

Jaramogi only sided with Mboya in death and was appalled at the way he had been assassinated by the very people he had been working closely with to not only destroy Jaramogi’s political career but to push him completely out of politics.