The Kenyan political scene is very competitive and unpredictable owing to the huge pacts of being a politician in the country.
Winning a political seat in Kenya is a daunting task and requires you to be a good public speaker, a great crowd mobiliser, be in the right party and have sufficient resources.
The above factors have made it difficult for many politicians to win or retain their seats. However, President William Ruto has for the past six general elections contested and never lost.
He made his debut in 1997 when he successfully contested the Eldoret North parliamentary seat. He defended the seat in 2002 marking his second term in the National Assembly.
In the run-up to the 2007 general election, Ruto teamed up with former Prime Raila Odinga and other leaders and formed the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
Read More
Ruto popularised ODM in the Rift Valley region and used the party in defending his parliamentary seat during the 2007 general election.
Interestingly, the party won most of the seats in the vote-rich region that was previously dominated by KANU which was then headed by the late former President Daniel Moi.
File image of President Ruto receiving his 2022 election certificate. [Photo: Courtesy]
Although ODM won most parliamentary seats, incumbent Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential contest. The declaration plunged the country into chaos, leading to talks that saw the creation of a coalition government.
Raila was named prime Minister, while Ruto was appointed Agriculture minister, a position that was later stripped from him over corruption claims.
Ruto was among six Kenyans who were taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, Netherlands over claims of inciting violence that led to the death of Kenyans during the post-election conflict.
The other 5 included; former President Uhuru Kenyatta, former police boss Hussein Ali, ex-head of civil service Francis Muthaura, former Tinderet MP Henry Kosgei, and media personality Joshua Arap Sang.
Due to their ICC situation, Ruto and Uhuru teamed up to form the Jubilee coalition which they used to contest the presidency, where the latter was the presidential candidate, while he was the running mate.
The duo won the 2013 general election after beating Raila and Kalonzo. In 2017, The incumbent maintained its formation and again outshined the Raila-Kalonzo ticket.
However, the election was nullified by the Supreme Court and ordered that a new presidential poll be conducted in 60 days. When the fresh election was held, the opposition team largely boycotted the poll, making it easier for the Jubilee duo to win re-election.
File image of President Ruto. [Photo: Courtesy]
During their second term, Ruto fell out with Uhuru and proceeded to form the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
He teamed up with former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, ex-Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula, and other leaders to form the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
Ruto contested the 2022 presidency on a UDA party ticket under the Kenya Kwanza coalition with ex-Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate.
The duo won the contest, thus making Ruto Kenya's fifth president. The win marked the sixth consecutive election that Ruto had contested without losing.
Prior to the 2022 general election, former Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi and ex-Vihiga Senator George Khaniri were the other politicians who had not lost an election in their entire political career.
