William Ruto has some nerve lecturing Kenyans about sobriety.
Before the 2022 election, Ruto and his political machine worked relentlessly to paint Uhuru Kenyatta as a drunkard.
We were told that Uhuru made decisions under the influence of alcohol.
We were told that Ruto had even tried to speak to him “as a brother” and caution him against mixing alcohol with the presidency.
Ruto presented himself as the sober alternative.
Humble.
Compassionate.
God fearing.
A man who understood the pain of the hustler.
And Kenyans listened, we believed.
The election came. Ruto won. Uhuru handed over power peacefully.
Now look at Kenya.
Nairobi petrol is currently KSh214.03 per litre.
The cost of living is crushing households.
Education is under enormous pressure.
Healthcare remains a daily struggle for millions.
Even people with payslips are counting every shilling before the end of the month.
So here is the question, Mr President:
If Uhuru's alleged drinking was the problem, why did sobriety not save us?
If Uhuru's whiskey was responsible for Kenya's problems, what exactly should we blame for the mess we are living through today?
Because the bottle did not increase the price of bread.
The bottle did not create unbearable taxes.
The bottle did not make healthcare inaccessible.
The bottle did not make parents struggle to keep children in school.
The bottle did not empty Kenyans' pockets.
Governments make policy.
Governments collect taxes. Governments borrow money.
Governments spend public money.
Governments appoint officials.
Governments are accountable for what happens under their watch.
That is the conversation we should be having.
And now Ruto is back to the same tired politics of alcohol.
After attacking Uhuru over sobriety, he is now dragging Kalonzo Musyoka and Edwin Sifuna into the same gutter, reportedly making remarks about their drinking habits.
Mr President, Kenya elected a President, not a national sobriety inspector.
You promised to transform the lives of hustlers.
You promised bottom up.
You promised a government that would put money in people's pockets.
You cannot spend every political season diagnosing your opponents' drinking habits while Kenyans are diagnosing their own empty pockets.
And let me make this painfully clear:
A Kenyan's choice to drink does not make him less Kenyan.
A politician's sobriety does not automatically make his government competent.
Leadership is not measured by how loudly someone condemns alcohol from a church podium.
It is measured by what happens to the mwananchi when the cameras are gone.
So if
@edwinsifuna drinks, let him drink your tea is the reason we are suffering.
If
@skmusyoka drinks, that is his business he beer made him reject your blood money while your honey killed our children.
If any Kenyan drinks, that is not a substitute for discussing the Constitution, the economy, corruption, healthcare, education, taxation and the cost of living.
We are not looking for bishops at State House.
We are looking for accountable government.
Mr President, before you call another Kenyan a drunkard, matapeli perhaps pause and look at the country you have been governing.
The question is no longer whether the President is sober.
The question is whether Kenya is better off.
Kenyans are perfectly capable of answering that question for themselves.