According to a podcast by political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi, President William Ruto’s rise to power is the story of an outsider who was never seen, never heard, and felt nothing. Mutahi Ngunyi reveals how Ruto, unlike others in Kenya’s political elite, began his journey far from privilege and power. He was not part of the ruling class, and he did not attend the elite finishing schools where power is polished. Instead, Ruto was always in the shadows—watching, learning, and waiting.
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In the early days, when Ngunyi and his team worked at State House under President Uhuru Kenyatta and Professor Mutahi, they observed how some workers were treated like invisible people. One moment that stood out was when an elderly tea lady dropped her cup in shock after someone asked her name. No one had ever spoken to her as a person. She, like many others—security guards, secretaries, and cleaners—had no identity in the eyes of power.
Mutahi Ngunyi connects this invisibility to William Ruto’s experience. As a young man during the Moi era, Ruto was often present but unnoticed. He served tea and mandazis, listened from the background, and silently took notes as Moi and his political generals discussed strategies. Ruto had a name, but no face. He had a voice, but no audience. And because he was never acknowledged, he felt nothing.
When the Grand Coalition was formed in 2007, Ruto was appointed a minister. But even then, he remained an outsider in government. After just 26 months, he was fired and left in the political cold. But he never stopped watching. He studied the mistakes of Raila Odinga, who failed to secure the presidency after Kibaki. He also observed Uhuru Kenyatta, a man born into power—the son of Kenya’s founding president.
Mutahi Ngunyi points out that Ruto entered politics in 1992, a full ten years before Uhuru Kenyatta. He learned politics from President Moi and later served under Raila Odinga. Yet, despite his experience, Ruto remained an outsider during Uhuru’s government. He was part of power, but never truly welcomed. Uhuru, described as a prince and a classist, saw Ruto and his allies like Oscar Sudi and Hassan Joho as political commoners. This perception fueled Ruto’s strategy.
Knowing Uhuru’s mindset, Ruto pushed him to support Raila Odinga in 2022—another elite. This move helped Ruto position himself as the true “hustler,” the outsider who represented ordinary Kenyans. He turned his outsider status into strength, defeating the very system that once ignored him. According to Ngunyi, this is why Ruto has nothing to lose—because power was never handed to him. He took it.
Ruto is now the president, but he is still seen as an outsider, especially by those who believe in the idea of “chosen people” in Kenya—mainly the Kikuyu elite. Mutahi Ngunyi explains that Kenya’s leadership was a continuation of a colonial legacy. Jomo Kenyatta acted like the first African colonial governor, handing power to a Kikuyu oligarchy. Moi kept people busy without real change. Kibaki advanced this legacy by building infrastructure that mostly benefited his Kikuyu community. Uhuru Kenyatta, the last of the colonial governors, completed this project by constructing 2,000 kilometers of roads in the GEMA region.
Ruto, as Ngunyi says, is breaking this cycle. He is not a prince, not a chosen one. He is a political outsider who understands what works and what fails. And because he has nothing to lose, he is dangerous to the old order. His journey—from the tea-serving boy in Moi’s government to the most powerful man in the country—is proof that even the invisible can rise. And that is what makes him different.
