IF RAILA THE ENIGMA WAS THE PHOENIX, RUTO THE FOX IS THE NINE-LIVED CAT:— Two Parallels, Two Journeys, One Nation’s Story

By Fred Allan Nyankuru

Kenya has always explained its politics through metaphor. It is how we make sense of the extraordinary figures who walk our national stage. Now, as the country reflects on the life and legacy of the late Raila Amolo Odinga, the imagery becomes even more poignant. If Raila, the enigma, was the phoenix who rose again and again from political trials, then William Ruto, the fox, is the nine-lived cat who has survived and adapted through every storm.

These metaphors do not diminish either man. They highlight two powerful and distinct strengths that Kenya has produced. Raila and Ruto represent parallel narratives that, together, reveal the depth of Kenya’s political character: a blend of idealism and pragmatism, conviction and adaptability, sacrifice and survival.

The Phoenix Remembered: Raila Odinga and the Enduring Spirit of Reform

Raila’s passing has left the nation in a reflective mood, contemplating a life that shaped Kenya’s democratic identity. Born into privilege but choosing the difficult path of opposition, he became a symbol of resilience and courage. He endured detention, political exclusion, and repeated electoral heartbreak yet he never abandoned the cause of a more just nation.

It is no accident that Raila was often compared to a phoenix. Even in defeat, he returned with renewed energy and purpose. His voice was never merely personal; it echoed the frustrations, hopes, and dreams of millions. Through Raila’s persistence, Kenya won multiparty democracy, constitutional reform, and a political culture more willing to question power.

Now that he is gone, Kenyans see more clearly what he represented; moral compass; reminder that nations rise when citizens refuse to surrender their ideals; a belief that justice is not a luxury but a duty. Raila embodied the Kenya that dreams the Kenya that believes in finishing the work of freedom.

The Nine-Lived Cat: William Ruto and the Relentless Instinct for Survival

While Raila’s path was marked by public sacrifice, William Ruto’s journey reflects another powerful Kenyan reality: the fierce battle for opportunity in a world that rarely hands it out. Ruto was not born into power. His rise is a story familiar to millions a journey from scarcity to influence, from the margins to the centre. His climb through the ranks of KANU politics, his resilience in the face of crises, and his uncanny ability to survive political challenges have earned him the reputation of a leader with many lives.

Where Raila is remembered for moral conviction, Ruto is known for strategic brilliance. His instincts are sharp, his adaptability remarkable. He understands the machinery of power and knows how to navigate its contradictions.

The “nine-lived cat” metaphor is not a slight; it is recognition of his unique political intelligence. Ruto represents the Kenya that hustles, that observes carefully, that manoeuvres wisely, that refuses to remain where it began. He embodies the Kenya that survives— and wins in spite of the odds.

Two Parallels, One National Identity

Though their lives followed different paths, Raila and Ruto are not contradictions. They are complements— two different expressions of Kenya’s potential. Raila called the nation toward its ideals; Ruto calls the nation toward its possibilities.

The phoenix and the nine-lived cat represent the two forces that have always shaped Kenya: principle and pragmatism, vision and strategy, reform and resilience. No nation thrives on ideals alone. No nation survives on strategy alone. Kenya needed and still needs both.

Why Their Dual Legacy Strengthens Kenya

Together, Raila and Ruto reveal Kenya’s complexity and power. Raila’s legacy teaches courage: the willingness to rise for justice regardless of the cost. Ruto’s journey teaches determination: the ability to turn humble beginnings into national leadership. They show that Kenya is capable of producing: dreamers and tacticians, reformers and survivors, visionaries and doers.

A healthy democracy requires each of these qualities. Raila broadened the nation’s imagination; Ruto proved that the nation’s possibilities are not reserved for the privileged. Their coexistence in life and legacy reminds Kenya that progress is not linear. It is a dialogue between conviction and adaptability.

With Raila’s passing, Kenya mourns not only a leader but a symbol— a phoenix whose flame illuminated the path of reform. However, the nation continues to move forward with leaders like Ruto, whose resilience demonstrates that the impossible can be achieved through grit and determination.

The truth is simple: Kenya is richer because it has produced both types of leaders. Raila gave the nation courage to rise. Ruto gives the nation the resilience to survive. Together, they form a narrative larger than politics; a story of a country defined by endurance, ambition, hope, innovation, sacrifice, and survival.

If Raila the enigma was the phoenix, and Ruto the fox is the nine-lived cat, then Kenya is the remarkable land that nurtured both. And that is perhaps the greatest testament to the nation’s strength.