Former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto was in 2016 injured on his face during a chaotic football match turned political rally.
The isolated incident appears to confirm that Ruto suffers from bad luck whenever he is caught up in a commotion.
Former Raila Odinga’s advisor Miguna Miguna, in his book, Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya, narrates an incident where he accidentally tackled Ruto to the ground during a melee at the KICC.
Miguna narrates the incident which happened on the day election results in the controversial 2007 elections were announced.
A few days before, Raila Odinga had taken an early lead before elections results stopped streaming in, causing tension at the KICC tally centre and in many parts of the country.
On December 30, 2007, Odinga was forced to go to the tallying centre where he hoped to put pressure on the then Electoral Commission Chairman Samuel Kivuitu.
Odinga’s entry to the KICC, accompanied by top members of the Pentagon, resulted in a commotion that appeared planned and it did not help matters that the police were hitting members of his delegation indiscriminately.
It was then that Miguna noticed a man moving closer to Odinga (whose security had already been overpowered and outnumbered) and in his characteristic bravery, the well-built lawyer pounced on the man before holding him to the ground.
As Ruto lay on the ground with his stomach on the floor and his attacker’s hand at the back of his neck, a concerned MP in the delegation informed Miguna that the man he was actually holding was actually on their team.
The short-lived drama ended as Odinga’s aide apologised profusely.
Incidentally, the South Rift politician was among the victims of the 1982 coup that happened while he was a student leader at the University of Nairobi.
Ruto was arrested a day after the coup and detained for nearly three months over suspicion of helping the Air Force soldiers in their failed mission.
Here is an excerpt from Peeling Back the Mask: A Quest for Justice in Kenya describing the incident at KICC:
"As Raila and the Pentagon members squeezed themselves between the thick cordon of police and GSU officers, some people started pushing and shoving.
It felt choreographed, as if an intended security breach. Raila’s security detail was overpowered and outnumbered.
Before we could reach the door, an enraged GSU officer aimed his baton at Balala’s head but missed narrowly. It grazed his temple before landing heavily on his left shoulder. Balala, startled, moved quickly to his right, causing pandemonium.
In the confusion, I saw a man edging closer to Raila.
I quickly tackled him to the ground, and was still holding him by the scruff of his neck, when I heard Omingo Magara shouting, 'Hey Miguna, that’s one of our MPs!'
I let go of the man quickly, apologised, climbed the steps and exited the KICC through the main entrance. The man I had nearly squashed was Chepalungu MP-elect, Isaac Ruto."
