By Anderson Ojwang
The once fiercest critic of President William Ruto and his government, then Orange Democratic Movement National Chairman John Mbadi, has today emerged as the blue-eyed boy and the most trusted lieutenant.
Mbadi has walked himself into the heart of the President, such that on Wednesday President Ruto openly said the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary will be given space in his book.
The President emotionally lavished praise on Mbadi for helping stabilise the ship.
“Today, John Mbadi, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, is providing leadership that has never been witnessed. I can confirm to you, John, that when I write my book, you will have ample space on what you and I have discussed. And your team at the Treasury, of course, including all the other actors that have taken this to the future,” Ruto said.
The President said the country had made huge strides in its economic recovery and thanked those responsible.
“We can proudly say today that in three years we were staring at default, and we had dollar reserves for only two and a half months of import cover, that was about 5.7 billion dollars of import cover. Today, our foreign exchange reserve is going to seven months of import cover. We are almost tripling our foreign exchange reserve. That is extraordinary. I want to thank these great men who have assisted me. Numbers are beginning to show,” he said.
Let’s give Ruto his skunk
After the 2022 general election and President Ruto’s appointment of his first cabinet, Mbadi, while contributing in the Assembly, asked the legislators to either reject 60 percent of the appointments or give Ruto his skunk.
“What was informing the appointments of these members to the cabinet? This was a cabinet informed by political expediency,” he said.
Mbadi said the President had appointed 2027 regional campaign coordinators.
“The President is telling us to give him a cabinet which is not going to function. He is ready to run the government machineries from State House using advisors. We have a choice whether to reject 60 percent or give President Ruto his skunk,” he said.
He said the cabinet was least qualified and never merited to lead the country.
“The cabinet is deficient in academic, integrity, professionalism, competence, and experience. Very many people with cases. Some were received from office on matters of corruption,” he said.
No betrayal but loyalty
After the formation of the broad-based government and the subsequent appointment of Mbadi as Treasury Cabinet Secretary, the once fiery critic went overnight from Saul to Paul.
Mbadi pledged his loyalty to President Ruto, saying nothing will make him break his trust in the President.
In 2024, at a function in Ndhiwa, Mbadi recognised the confidence and risk the President took to appoint him, making it hard for him to betray him.
“The President can give you any ministry but not the Ministry of Finance. The kind of confidence and the risk that he (Ruto) took to appoint me makes it very difficult for me to betray him,” he said.
Mbadi said he will not betray the President but will remain loyal to his course in delivering service to Kenyans.
“What I want is to work for him (Ruto), to make things that are not working work. Once we have corrected and made things work, we will come and tell Kenyans that we want you to give us another opportunity to continue working,” he said.
Expel Sifuna
Mbadi never wasted words in calling for Edwin Sifuna’s expulsion from ODM as Secretary General over what he viewed as his obstruction to the broad-based government coalition and opposition to President Ruto’s regime.
Mbadi, on several occasions, questioned Sifuna’s continued stay in ODM, arguing that the Nairobi Senator was already conflicted and effectively serving the interests of other political forces.
“Someone like Sifuna will not remain in ODM because already he is conflicted. He is now selling the agenda of someone else. Why are you pretending? You cannot keep him in the party; he is gone. Allow him to go,” Mbadi said.
Uhuru Kenyatta
Mbadi has not spared former President Uhuru Kenyatta over what he claimed as ‘fake’ support for Raila Odinga’s presidential bid in the 2022 general elections.
Mbadi claimed Uhuru played Raila in the race to State House and that the Luo community should support President Ruto’s re-election as President.
Stability in the ministry
Mbadi, in his two years in office, has developed a new approach and strategy through public engagement, which has thawed public opposition to the Finance Bill.
A gifted orator, Mbadi has tackled public and emerging issues, creating confidence and repositioning the President’s agenda.
“The government is stable. I don’t understand how anyone can claim it is failing,” Mbadi said.
Mbadi has dismissed criticism of Ruto’s administration as politically motivated and unfair.
Mbadi said those attacking the current government overlook the progress being made in key sectors.
“The critics calling for the President’s removal fail to provide valid justifications for their stance, asserting that the government has addressed long-standing issues that have plagued critical sectors for years,” he said.
The defender
Currently, Mbadi stands out as the main and leading defender of President Ruto’s administration. He has outfoxed those in UDA and the broad-based government to become the biblical Peter among the President’s disciples.
“Some people say President Ruto’s government must go, yet when asked why, they claim nothing is happening,” said Mbadi. “But for a decade before Ruto, there were constant complaints about tea, coffee, sugar, and dairy. Today, you don’t hear about those issues because this administration has tried to fix them.”
Mbadi said the agriculture sector was in crisis before Ruto’s presidency but has since seen significant improvements.
“The same applies to the health sector, where the current government has invested more than any other administration in Kenya’s history, a fact he claims remains unrecognised. There are people who are opposing the President today simply because his name sounds strange. It’s not because negative things are happening in this country that have never happened before,” he said.
Tutam
Currently, Mbadi has been engaged in economic empowerment programmes aimed at selling President Ruto’s second-term agenda.
In Nyanza, Mbadi has been traversing every corner and leading in fundraising and campaigning for the President.
“In 2027, UDA and ODM must work together. I have been chairman of ODM for ten years. Looking at the dynamics of politics in this country, we don’t have a choice. The two parties must collaborate – if not for anything else, just to lead the unity of Kenya,” he said.
In Mbadi, Ruto got a true soldier, and indeed, he rightly deserves a space in his book.
