Every President, especially in Africa, surrounds themselves with men they can order around, dispatch on errands of personal interest, entrust with secrets, take advice from, and sometimes misuse whenever they’re unable to tackle a particularly messy matter.
Kenya’s second President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi perhaps most perfectly embodied the State apparatus. Around Moi, there existed servile men who squirmed at the slightest strum of his guitar. They marched at the faintest murmur of his whims.
But while these men were at the service of the big man, they also wielded unparalleled power. For instance, they handled the President's unofficial diary and squared out his messes. They also dealt with pesky fellows at the grassroots. Furthermore, they were the bridge to the big man’s gut check.
In this Moi-era field, the likes of Kariuki Chotara, Nicholas Biwott, and Mulu Mutisya come to mind. Besides being Members of Parliament, these men, and a few others like them, not only commandeered the Nyayo juggernaut. They were also the vessels of the State House machine.
In President William Ruto’s administration, one man has emerged as the master player in the intricate State House power play. That man is Oscar Sudi.
Since President Ruto swept into power in August 2022, the diminutive three-time Kapseret MP has morphed into the bürgermeister of the Kenya Kwanza realpolitik. He has become a ubiquitous figure in major Presidential appearances. His powerful yet subtle command cannot be ignored.
A self-styled grand strategist, Sudi even refers to himself as “Engineer”. In normal parlance, this term roughly means a person who designs, builds or maintains engines and machines. In his power-laden world, Sudi has embraced the title to the tilt. Indeed, his proficiency is unquestionably evident.
Images of Sudi disembarking from the same military plane as the President only reinforced perceptions. People believed he had the Head of State’s ears. And when questions were understandably raised, he would defend himself. He explained that it was not an extraordinary undertaking as he was used to travelling in government choppers.
“I am used to these government helicopters,” he once responded on X, attaching undated photos of himself in a Kenya Police chopper.
When General Francis Ogolla died in a freak chopper accident, the President went on TV to address the nation. Amongst the men flanking him, all of whom were drawn from the National Security Council, was Oscar Sudi. By any understanding, he had no business being on such an explicit podium and at such a delicate national moment.
Sudi’s unfettered proximity to power has left many baffled. Some are attempting to figure out the exact role he plays in President Ruto’s administration. They wonder what, exactly, might he be up to.
Sudi appears to have been bestowed the role of wrong-footing the President’s most scurrilous opponents. He is also refashioning his administration into a hyperpartisan capital of undisputed policy making. Additionally, he levels the President’s most obstinate political mountains.
Not too long after the elections, as if learning from the best, Sudi embarked on a tireless fundraising spree, traversing the Rift Valley, indiscriminately dropping off millions of shillings at various churches.
He quickly rebranded into the darling of church harambees. This forte is best exemplified by President William Ruto.
On March 17, Sudi helped raise funds at St Francis of Asisi Ngara Falls Catholic Church, Ngeria Ward. The funds were for aid in its construction. He made a personal contribution of Ksh.3 million. His friends and fellow politicians cumulatively brought in over Ksh.15 million.
A week prior, on March 10, he again presided over another fund raiser to support the construction of AIC Fellowship Church – Annex. This was in the neighboring Kesses Constituency. And to date, the harambees keep coming.
Back in January, Sudi’s power was well enunciated. He led a group of youths in demolishing structures sitting on a 20-acre contentious piece of land in Kamagut, Uasin Gishu County. This occurred despite a court order.
Sudi was reportedly acting on orders from the highest office in the land. This was after a woman claimed she was the rightful owner of the parcel and needed help to evict a Paul Kirwa Samoei and others. Indeed, only one man could pull off this messy feat dexterously.
And in December, when the President attended the Kimalel goat auction in Baringo County, an Oscar Sudi photo went immediately viral. He was snapped wearing black designer sunglasses, a jungle green cap, and a funky pair of sneakers.
Across his torso, a swashbuckling Sudi was carrying a beefy ‘Balmain’ sling bag. It was said to have been stuffed with the President’s millions for the high-profile goat purchases.
Despite the fact that his education background has been filled with inconsistencies, his detractors say he has falsified records. However, Sudi’s brilliance at political maneuvering appears to not rest on his academic papers. Instead, it is his sheer tenacity, ingenuity, and unparalleled political aptitude that stands out.
Online, the media-savvy politician has also learned the art of milking perception to his profit. A recent video shared on Instagram shows him animatedly talking up First Lady Rachel Ruto. President Ruto looks on, bemused.
As both men walk to their seats, dressed in their pristine Italian suits, Sudi appears every inch the “Engineer” he has dubbed himself. He is self-assured, poised, and untouchable.
Almost like a mini-president himself, Sudi regularly shares photos of high-profile people who troop to his Nairobi offices almost daily, as if to tap into the infinite power, standing beside him in well-calculated photo-ops which explicitly reveal who the boss is.
Even Sudi’s fiercest political foes will attest to his intellectual rigour, strategic foresight, nuanced approach, and political pragmatism.
At a past gathering, while heaping praises on Sudi, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen told a crowd of Sudi’s shrewdness. Despite his limited education, he was recognized.
“Ni mwerevu zaidi, na kwenye anaingia, nadhani ni mawaziri wachache sana wanaweza ingia. Kuna watu wanasema Sudi angesoma apate PhD…Nadhani angefika hapo mambo ingeharibika, ni vizuri alitosha vile yuko,” Murkomen said to a laughing audience.
“Ni mwerevu kupita kiasi, so Mungu lazima angeweka break kidogo.”
Sudi has continuously exuded the perfect combination of steady marksmanship and quaking dread. And in the giant national chessboard, he remains the inviolable grandmaster whose thoughts, actions and suggestions move the very nerve of the nation.
By Kenneth Gachie
Read the original article on https://citizen.digital/
