#What President Ruto's Verbal AttacksINSULTS AS STRATEGY
on the Opposition Reveal Ahead of 2027By Our Author Nairobi, June 29, 2026
President William Ruto has, in recent weeks, abandoned even the pretense of statesmanlike restraint toward his political rivals. From Nandi to Mt Elgon to Meru, the Head of State has repeatedly used blunt, often crude language to describe opposition leaders — calling them "stupid," "below par," "brainless," and "thieves," among other epithets. The pattern, now well-documented across multiple counties and several months, raises a pointed question for political observers and ordinary citizens alike: what does this style of leadership reveal about the man occupying State House, and where is his apparent confidence coming from?
The Latest Flashpoint:
Meru County, June 28, 2026
The most recent and perhaps most explicit example came during a tour of Meru County on Sunday, June 28, 2026. Speaking after being received by Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma at Burieruri High School, President Ruto dismissed opposition leaders as "very stupid" and "below par," declaring they would suffer defeat in the 2027 General Election — "at breakfast time," as he put it.
"Some people have been leaders in this country for 50 years. They have nothing to show for it," Ruto told the crowd. "The only job they have done is to give me the name 'Kasongo'. They have no plan, no agenda and no programme."
He went further, accusing the united opposition of having no policy substance: "They don't talk about schools, agriculture, roads or hospitals. Their work is insults, tribalism and hatred."
Notably, "Kasongo" the nickname Ruto invoked dismissively did not originate with him. It is a moniker coined by his own online critics, drawn from a 1977 Lingala love song by the Congolese band Super Mazembe, and popularized on social media to mock the president over tax increases and unfulfilled promises. Ruto has spent over a year publicly "owning" the nickname, even dancing to the song at a state lodge in Kisii County on New Year's Eve. His Meru remarks suggest he is now trying to flip the insult back onto the people who coined it — branding the opposition, not himself, as the real "Kasongo."
The Meru tour also doubled as a consolidation exercise for Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's standing in Mt Kenya, following former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's exit from government in October 2024. Without naming Gachagua directly, Ruto praised Kindiki: "When Kindiki's time comes, he will shock them." Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi separately took aim at "Wantam" politics Gachagua's signature one-term slogan telling the crowd: "There is nothing like Wantam. We supported Jomo Kenyatta for 15 years. We supported Mwai Kibaki for 10 years and Uhuru Kenyatta for 10 years."
Not an Isolated Incident: A Documented Pattern
The Meru speech was not a one-off. It is the latest in a string of similarly combative appearances stretching back months:
Nandi County, late June 2026 — During a development tour, Ruto attacked former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i in a single speech. Referring to Gachagua's one-term Mathira MP record, Ruto said: "Mtu one-term MP anatuambia one-term. Wewe you don't know who you are dealing with." On Kalonzo, who has served in government in various capacities for roughly four decades, Ruto said dismissively: "Umekuwa kwa serikali kwa miaka 40 na kitu, umejenga ni jela kidogo hapo kwako" — referencing Kithimani Prison in Yatta, Machakos County, as the extent of Kalonzo's development legacy.
Makueni and Kitui Counties, early March 2026 — During a four-day regional tour, Ruto repeatedly described opposition figures as lacking "mpango," "sera," "ajenda," and even "akili" (plan, policy, agenda, and even intelligence). In Wote town, Makueni Woman Representative Suzanne Kiamba publicly pushed back from a sunroof, telling the president to respect other leaders — a rare on-the-spot rebuke.
Mt Elgon, Bungoma County, March 17, 2026 Responding to taunts from Gachagua about his weight loss, Ruto told a crowd in Cheptais: "Mwende gym; acheni kula chakula kingi. Matumbo yamejaa hadi vichwa vinakaribia kupasuka" (Go to the gym; stop eating so much. Your stomachs are so full your heads are about to burst). Kalonzo Musyoka responded on X two days later, on March 18, declaring the opposition the "United Alternative Government-in-Waiting" and warning that Kenyans would hold the administration accountable "for your unconstitutional and unconscionable looting of our Republic on August 10, 2027."
Kirinyaga County, March 28, 2026 Gachagua escalated the rhetorical war, daring Ruto to confront him personally in Mt Kenya rather than insulting him in Luo and Luhya regions: "Kama wewe ni mwanaume kamili, kuja hapa mlimani umtusi Riggy G." Ruto, in turn, had earlier called Gachagua a "cold-blooded thief, stealing from your own brother, stealing from orphans, stealing from widows."
The exchanges have become a defining feature of Kenya's pre-2027 political climate vivid, personal, and frequently broadcast live to large crowds and national television audiences.
What Does This Reflect About Ruto as a Leader?
Several interpretations are worth weighing, and they are not mutually exclusive.
A deliberate political strategy. Political observers note that Ruto's insults consistently follow a pattern: questioning his rivals' records ("what have you built?"), invoking corruption allegations, and casting the opposition as obsessed with personal attacks rather than policy. By framing the contest as "performance versus rhetoric," Ruto appears to be trying to control the narrative heading into 2027 — turning a defensive posture (he is the incumbent facing criticism over the economy, taxation, and the Gen Z protest deaths) into an offensive one.
Erosion of presidential decorum. Critics argue that the language — "stupid," "brainless," "below par" — is beneath the dignity of the office and normalizes a coarser standard of political discourse. Kenya's presidency has historically maintained at least a thin veneer of statesmanship even amid sharp political rivalry; commentators note this style breaks from that tradition more openly than his predecessors did.
A response to sustained personal provocation. It is also true that the insults have not been one-directional. Gachagua has openly mocked Ruto's weight loss and called him "Kasongo" to his face in regional speeches; Kalonzo has accused the administration of "looting the Republic." Ruto's defenders argue he is simply matching the tone set by his opponents rather than initiating it.
Signal of political anxiety beneath the bravado. Some analysts read the aggressive rhetoric as compensatory a leader contending with falling public trust after the 2024 Finance Bill protests, the June 2025 and June 2026 Gen Z protest anniversaries, and ongoing allegations of enforced disappearances, projecting strength through verbal dominance rather than through reassurance on substantive grievances.
Where Is the "Breakfast Time" Confidence Coming From?
Ruto's assertion that he will defeat the opposition "at breakfast time" in 2027 is bold, especially given Kenya's volatile political mood. Several factors may be feeding that confidence, based on recent public commentary and developments:
1. A fragmented, leaderless-seeming opposition:
Constitutional lawyer Prof. Makau Mutua argued publicly on June 28, 2026, that none of the current opposition figures presents a credible threat. He dismissed Kalonzo Musyoka as "so indecisive, he does not know whether he is going south or north," and argued that Gachagua's 2024 impeachment as deputy president had effectively foreclosed his path back to the presidency: "Riggy G is a man impeached; by law he cannot run." Mutua, notably a former Ruto critic, said his views shifted after working closely with the administration for over a year.
2. Visible fiscal wins to point to:
On June 29, 2026 the same week as the Meru remarks Ruto assented to the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2026, unlocking KSh 428 billion for the 47 counties for the 2026/2027 financial year, an increase from KSh 415 billion the previous year. Such visible, large-figure fiscal actions allow the president to contrast his "delivery" record against what he frames as an opposition that "has nothing to show" after decades in public life.
3. Control of state machinery and patronage networks:
Reporting from Nation Africa describes senior allies including Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed disbursing millions of shillings in cash at public "empowerment" events in Homa Bay and Migori counties in recent weeks, part of a broader Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda push. Critics question whether such spending reflects genuine economic empowerment or pre-election positioning, but it nonetheless signals a campaign machine already in motion well over a year before the vote.
4. Active regional coalition-building.
The Meru tour itself illustrates a broader strategy: shoring up Mt Kenya support through Deputy President Kindiki as a counterweight to Gachagua's continuing influence in the region, while similar consolidation efforts are underway in Western Kenya around Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, who some allies have floated as a possible 2027 running mate.
5. A belief that the opposition is defined by reaction, not vision:
Ruto's core argument repeated nearly verbatim across Meru, Nandi, Makueni, and Kitui — is that his rivals offer "insults, tribalism and hatred" but no governing programme. Whether or not this is a fair characterization, it is a consistent talking point designed to position him as the only credible deliverer of development, regardless of how combative his own language becomes in making that case.
The Bigger Picture
Whether Ruto's confidence is well-founded remains to be tested at the ballot box in August 2027. What is clear is that his rhetorical style equal parts dismissive and combative has become a defining, deliberate feature of his political brand rather than an occasional lapse. It reflects a leader betting that aggressive framing of his opponents as directionless will outweigh any reputational cost from the coarseness of the language itself , a wager that will only be settled when Kenyans go to the polls.