President William Ruto and his Deputy President Ligaty Gachagua have changed their tactics in politics from shedding tears and kneeling at the pulpit to begging for the support of the common people to now appearing in the dining halls of charlatans.
Over the past two weeks, the president and vice president have been photographed dining in the semi-permanent homes of their modest owners, many of whom are women.
On August 9, 2024, during a working tour in Murang’a County, they released photographs showing them entering the home of Ms Miriam Njeri of Matioya Constituency and enjoying bread and tea after barring all photographers except those attached to the communications department.
Njeri was also photographed praying for the two national leaders after President Ruto outlined the country’s 2024 electricity policy.
A voice can be heard from behind asking for “300,000 shillings as a thank you to this woman for her kind hospitality.”
After receiving the money, the woman can be heard beginning her prayer again, begging God to bless the two leaders and their work, and to help them escape “the many snares of their detractors which the devil’s agents have set for them.”
Mama Caroline Wanjira, a beneficiary of the Last Mile Power Project in Kirinyaga County, offers prayers to President William Ruto and Deputy President Ligathy Gachagua.
Photo credit: PCS
Trending photos of ordinary Kenyans sharing tea and bread at home have flooded the official social media pages of both leaders, especially during their recent visits to Mt Kenya and Gusii regions.
But for the duo, this is not a new phenomenon. President Ruto has based his 2022 election campaign around “ordinary people” – a roadside maize seller there, a boda boda rider there, a greengrocer here and the occasional roadside eatery – all united in the belief that their voter card is more powerful than the deep state, the machinations of the state and Raila Odinga, the powerful opposition candidate backed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
It all worked out as planned: Dr Ruto, a chicken seller in Turbo, Uasin Gishu County, was patronised by President Daniel Moi and in 1997 hosted the incumbent, Reuben Chesire, as a modest underdog. Chesire was Moi’s preferred candidate and Uasin Gishu Kanu chapter chief and assistant minister.
Deputy Prime Minister Ruto has breakfast at Mandela’s Kibanda
Following this script, Dr Ruto has never lost an election except in 2010 when he voted ‘No’ in the referendum on a new constitution, but then used the results to gauge his popularity among the people and his chances of becoming Prime Minister.
But for him, even the prayer offered by Njeri is part of his political journey and story.
The pulpit was one of the powerful platforms that helped Uhuru Kenyatta and Dr Ruto win the presidential election in 2013. This trend has continued for the past 11 years.
Gachagua also perfects this strategy of being seen as a humble member of his people: on his many returns to his home in Matira, he can be found chatting with the wananchi on the roadside, sharing meals and drinks in their smoky, wood-lit kitchen and going on morning walks with them.
The Gen Z protests that shook the country for a month starting in June this year included national policies and accountability that benefit all groups, among other demands for governance accountability. The protesters also cited the luxury and conspicuous consumption displayed by some politicians and civil servants.
In addition, protesters also voiced opposition to the church being used for political activism and image cleansing.
Margaret Njambi, 67, from Murang’a County, said these meetings with political figures were rewarding.
“My life changed when I met Mr Ruto in 2021. At the time I met him, my daily income was about Sh200. He gave me Sh500,000 in cash and built me a permanent house worth Sh1 million,” she told Nation Africa.
Njambi, however, added that he has not received the second grade cows that he was promised.
“Once these politicians meet you, they try to recruit you as their ambassador and position themselves as friends of the common man,” she said.
Elizabeth Maguhle said she met the president during a visit to Kirinyaga County on August 10, 2024, and that “the president made eye contact with his aide as he spoke and an envelope was placed in front of him.”
She said the president would have been touched by the baby she held as they braved light rain to encourage him into the county.
“There was Sh100,000 in the envelope. The most I have ever counted out in one go is Sh6,000 which I saved up over 18 months. Even if Mr Ruto wants to rule the country for life, I will still vote for him,” she said.
She revealed that underground mobilisation took place ahead of the president’s visit, with “all three camps enticing us to cheer loudly every time they were handed the microphone to speak.”
Michael Mwiti, 26, said he was among the young people mobilised to deliver a male goat to the president at Kafuro market in Kiharu constituency.
“We were given Sh60,000 to procure the precious animal and we procured it for Sh24,000. We shared the rest. That is why we were motivated enough to bring the billy goat to the President. He (Dr Ruto) has improved my life and we have beautified his rallies,” he said.
The same happened on Wednesday, when the president and vice president released another video of them sitting in the modest dining room of 85-year-old Yunuke Nyanthongi in Riasta Itibonge village, Kisii County.

Yunuke Nyanthongi, 85, shows President William Ruto and Deputy President Ligathy Gachagua a paraffin lamp as he hosted them at his home in Kisii County.
Photo credit: PCS
“We just turned on the lights at Nyangchongi’s house and had snacks at her house and gifted her a chicken as a thank you,” one caption read.
Political analyst Gaspar Odhiambo has dismissed such actions as “the cultivation of a culture of symbolism that is making our politics meaningless”.
“This is the political equivalent of buying young girls sanitary pads and pants and telling them to pose for photos with politicians who donate to them while holding up their civilian clothes for political advertising,” he told the Weekly Review.
He added that this symbolic culture was behind the debacle of issuing scholarship cheques to poor families.
“The cheque has children and schools written on it. Instead of just sending the cheque to the school, politicians are demanding that parents gather in the town square and dance and shout. This is pointless politics that wastes economic working hours,” he said.
Githunguri member of parliament Gasoni wa Muchomba said such behaviour tended to leave frustration in its wake.
She cites the plight of her constituency, Ms Pauline Waitela Njoroge, which is shrouded in controversy.
Mrs Njoroge, 71, was one of the signatories who supported President Ruto’s nomination as his presidential candidate for the August 9, 2022 general elections. She was also one of the speakers at the Bottom Up Model Conference on May 23, 2022 at Jumuia Conference Centre, Kiambu County.
Wamuchomba said Mrs Njoroge has since been abandoned, turned miser and was not even invited to attend Mr Ruto’s inauguration on September 13, 2022.
Wamutchomba said Njoroge had been used by UDA bigwigs and “she was taken out of business and made out of stock as she became the face of Mama Mboga in Ruto’s election campaign”.
She said: “She is the one who suggested Mr Root’s candidature… She was promised a bigger hustle and a key position in the hustler government.”
“If these things really worked, my constituents would be given at least Sh1 million to stay healthy,” he added.
She said she felt it was a shame to see Njoroge suffering alone after he had taken refuge in the trappings of power the conmen had gained by pimping her out, and that she was the one who ultimately gave Njoroge the Sh100,000.
She said a government founded on prayer “should not cheat the poor.”
Outspoken politicians criticized clergymen for speaking lies from the pulpit and spreading despair and discouragement.
“Politics involves marketing, advertising, public relations and propaganda,” says public relations consultant Crispin Mwenda.
All these aspects need to be packaged in a mass media platform to reach the people. It is up to you to evaluate it or not, which will ultimately be reflected in the results at the aggregation centres.”
He said, “Every element that endears you to a cause must be exercised, unless you wish to dislike yourself by favoring your friends for the cause… The most notorious time is in courtship.”
“When we start saying that public donations, shared meals and face-to-face visits are bad politics, we are insulting acceptable ways of campaigning that benefit many people,” Mwenda said.