The Man Who Sold Kenya a Dream

September 2022. William Samoei Ruto walks into State House with a Bible in one hand and a campaign slogan on his lips — “Bottom-Up Economic Model.” It sounded like something Kenyans had never heard from a president before. Not top-down, not trickle-down, but bottom-up. The hustler would finally have someone in their corner. Markets erupted with cautious optimism. Mama mboga smiled. The boda boda rider gassed up his bike with hope. Small-scale traders, roadside mechanics, fish mongers at Gikomba — all believed this man was different. He had lived like them, he said. He understood their pain, he said. Now his term is almost over, and the receipts tell a completely different story.

Ruto ran one of the most emotionally charged campaigns Kenya has seen in decades. He weaponized poverty, packa ...