Kenya

President William Ruto as a leader has fared much worse than candidate William Ruto. The cautious optimism that his constituent political bases had in him during the 2022 electoral season seems to have fizzled out fairly quickly after he took over power. His popularity, momentum, and the hope in his hustler dream among the key supporters has died out faster than anticipated. To be fair though, presidents are rarely popular while in office. So, the question is always, are they unpopular for the right reasons. The enthusiasm of energetic presidential campaigns rarely translates well into the often-cold mechanics of everyday leadership decision-making, once they get into office. Hence, most presidents move from the popularity of candidature, to a slump in likeability once they are in the presidential role. They then get a popularity boost once they are out of office or after retirement-depending on the strength of their presidential legacy.