- HE DIDN’T PROTECT HIS VOTES
I tend to think that he over-relied on the “system” and it made him overconfident this time round. Woe unto him, his competitor was very meticulous and ruthless, leaving nothing to chance. For instance, how the hell did Baba allow Form 34A Books 2 of 2 to be printed in Greece? How?? Koome made it clear today that SCOK couldn’t find discrepancies between physical 34As and those on the portal. However, the sampling recently ordered by SCOK found that Books 2 were indeed used, despite assurances by IEBC in July that it wouldn’t be the case, that they would be left unused in tamper-proof envelopes bla bla bla. Even a Class 4 kid can easily deduce that Books 2 could be easily used to cook results where necessary!
His campaign secretariat was also not as strong as previous campaigns. NASA 2017 had a very elaborate team of agents across the board. 2022 you could see so many areas with lack of evidence of Azimio agents. There were even murmurs of agents going unpaid. Well, these were the agents meant to protect the votes or at the very least, provide the solid evidence for the SCOK petition, which Koome clearly stated lacked support.
- NASA DOWNFALL
If he had kept Weta and MaDVD in his fold, the vote rich Western block would still be his, especially Bungoma, which Weta delivered for Ruto. With Western (as had voted for him in 2017) and Ukambani on his side, Ruto had no chance!
Ruto was quick to make this calculation and seized it at the beginning of the year, even though he didn’t succeed with Kalonzo.
- CHEBUKATI
How naïve was Baba to take lightly Ruto’s close relationship with Chebukati? It was an open secret that the two were pretty cozy, especially since it was Ruto who saved Chebukati’s job, after the last IEBC fallout.
Baba should have used the handshake to reengineer IEBC reforms, including top leadership. But he didn’t. Left it to the “system.” In as much as Ruto was sidelined after the handshake eg from Cabinet, critical committees etc, he was still second in command and I think he cleverly crafted out his own network for 2022, with tentacles spreading all over the country. He could still place a call anywhere in this Republic, as DP, and get things done.
I remember reading Peeling Back the Mask by Miguna exactly 10 years ago. Miguna explained some key weaknesses of Baba, some of which have been replicated in 2022.
Fare thee well Baba. Time to move on, especially in Luo Nyanza!