Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has said President William Ruto is by far better than former Head of State Mwai Kibaki.
While comparing the two, Mungatana said Ruto is a hands-on president, while Kibaki delegated almost every duty and work to his ministers and their assistant ministers.
“I have worked with both Mwai Kibaki and William Ruto, and they are different. President Kibaki used to tell his ministers and assistant ministers, ‘You have brought me a problem, but you are paid to find the solutions. So, find solutions to those problems.’
“President Ruto, on the other hand, wants to explain what he is doing to the people. He knows Cabinet Secretaries, MPs, and Senators did not elect him; Kenyans did. He is the first president ever to sleep in Wajir. Ruto has visited areas in Tana River where no president has ever visited,” Mungatana said in an interview with a local television channel on April 23, 2025.
Meanwhile, Soy Member of Parliament David Kiplagat defended Ruto against accusations that he has failed to deliver on his pledges. According to Kiplagat, even Kibaki did not enjoy a smooth first term, as he had to deal with a lot of political intrigues.
“President Ruto has not been president for a century. If you look at President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, he started working in his second term. In his first term there was so much politics, including Orange and Banana referendum intrigues. In fact, we nearly lost our country by the time we entered the 2007 elections,” Kiplagat said during the same interview with Mungatana.
Unfair comparison?
Muranga’s Senator Joe Nyutu, however, differed with both Kiplagat and Mungatana and said the Ruto-Kibaki comparison is unfair.
Trying to compare Mwai Kibaki and William Ruto is so unfair. You can’t compare apples to oranges. Kibaki ministers had leeway to work. Kibaki never promised anything that he can’t do. When did Kibaki dish out cash in churches?
“It is a lie to say that President Ruto’s government has lowered the price of unga. That is a result of consistent rainfall across the country. They should tell us which dams they have done,” Nyutu argued.