When political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi announced his defection to President William Ruto’s camp on Monday, August 7, the news was met with bewilderment due to his strong links with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his previous scathing criticism of President William Ruto before he was elected President.
The sense of bewilderment soon turned into widespread condemnation from the opposition coalition after the political analyst gave a media interview in which he claimed he was exposing Azimio's campaign secrets.
Amid the harsh criticism, Ngunyi found support from unlikely quarters in the form of Raila’s close ally and former spokesperson of his campaign secretariat, Makau Mutua.
Even as Azimio leaders continue to accuse Ngunyi of betrayal, Mutua urged Kenyans to allow the controversial political analyst to reveal what he knew.
“Let Mutahi Ngunyi speak. That is why we fought for the 2010 Constitution,” Mutua quipped.
“It cannot be a bad thing to demystify power and the State. His revelations will make all of us better citizens.”
Notably, Mutua was the first to leap to Ngunyi's defence after the political scientist alleged that former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila funded Roots Party Leader George Wajackoyah's manifesto launch to coincide with Ruto's in 2022.
In his typical calculated fashion, Mutua asked Kenyans to let Ngunyi be and let his strategy take its natural course.
“My friend Mutahi Ngunyi has been channelling Karl Marx in the last 36 hours,” the Harvard-trained lawyer observed.
The political analyst, pleased to receive support from his fellow academician, remarked that the country was ready for change, and President Ruto is the only one capable of delivering such transformation.
Makau Mutua, a staunch Raila ally, chose not to indulge that line of thought.
Even as all this happened, Ngunyi was welcomed to Kenya Kwanza by Ruto's chief economic advisor, David Ndii.
"Mutahi and I are friends and peers of over 30 years standing who have done intellectual battle to elevate the quality of public discourse since the mid-90s. Mutahi has been a proponent of Hustler Nation politics as long as I’ve known him. Welcome home Mutahi," the economist wrote.
