How can an unelected man who boasts of obscure academic credentials and has no formal office hold so much sway in the corridors of power for so long? How can such a man evoke so much love and resentment at the same time.
Welcome to the world of Farouk Kibet, a man who has made a deputy president, Cabinet Secretaries, governors and Members of Parliament quake in their boots.
A call from Mr Kibet is known to have sent shivers down the spines of the high and the mighty in Kenya. Such calls have in the past made and broken careers.
Those who have interacted with Farouk, President William Ruto’s trusted personal aid, give mixed reactions of dread loathing and reverence. His admirers describe him as a man who organises space, while to some, he is a coach who decides who to speak where and what to say.
To Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Farouk is a dictator “who made many MPs go through trouble to reach his boss”.
“He has no office but has a corridor known as a corridor of power that ends at the DP’s,” Duale said during the burial of Farouk’s father Paul Teigutin 2018 referring to Ruto’s office at Harambee Annex when he was the Deputy President.
“DP Rigathi Gachagua cannot get to President William Ruto without going through Farouk Kibet.” Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said while speaking in a past event organized by Farouk and was attended by government leaders including the then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in October 2022.
READ: Farouk Kibet, the man behind the mask
At another function, Nyoro disclosed that one cannot access the President without the nod of Farouk who he described as swift in coordinating activities whenever Ruto is about to attend functions.
“Huyu mtu anaitwa Farouk ni mtu wa maana sana. Na watu wanasikianga Farouk wanafikiria ni mtu utapata ako na ofisi floor moja kwa ofisi ya Rais. (Farouk is a very important person. Many people hear of him and think he has an office at the office of the President),” Nyoro said, adding:
“Ofisi ya Farouk ni ile ya Rais wetu wa Kenya. Kwa sababu huwezi fikia Rais Farouk akisema no. Ata huyu Deputy President rafiki yangu kufikia yeye (Ruto), Farouk lazima aseme yes. (Farouk’s office is that of the President of Kenya because you can’t access the President if Farouk says no. Even the Deputy President, who is my friend, can only reach the President if Farouk says yes)”.
“Farouk Kibet woodman. Effective. Organises the space. Absolutely Smart! You do not survive around WSR all those years if you are anything less. Tough – Yes. Firm – Yes. Effective – Yes. But most importantly, he thinks beyond the boardroom,” wrote Dennis Itumbi, a communications advisor at State House.
So revered is Farouk that his suggestions or opinions are law to area leaders. He decides who to sit where in an event attended by the President and who to say what and for how long.
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Four days ago, a video of Farouk trended across social media platforms showing him cutting off mid-speech Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan and instructing the governor to hand over the microphone to the area MP Hussein Weytan.
Last month, another video was in circulation showing Deputy President Kithure Kindiki being pushed by Farouk towards President Ruto at Ngeria TTC in Kapseret. Farouk was seen pushing Kindiki to go behind the President and join him when he was dancing with traditional dancers. Moments before the action, Farouk could be seen in the video whispering something to the second in command.
In December last year at Chepsaita in Nandi during a much-publicised marathon that was presided over by the newly minted Deputy President Kindiki, Kibet was in his element. He could be seen gesticulating to guests using a walkie-talkie.
Later that evening, he hosted the Deputy President who was just barely a month in office at his rural home in Uasin Gishu.
ALSO READ: From ICC to NYS scandal: The secret life of Ruto’s aide Farouk Kibet
The long-serving personal assistant of the President has over the years maintained a shadowy character but has remained a smooth operator who keeps a watchful eye, taking in every detail for subsequent review at Ruto’s functions. He ‘mentally’ notes the who is who and who says what. He spots fellow power brokers in the crowd for future engagement.
He is described as a self-effacing individual, a silent observer who does not take chances to control Ruto’s messaging, especially to his allies who have always praised him in public but expressed their fears and dissatisfaction in private or when they severe ranks with the President.
Gachagua, for example, praised Farouk as a hardworking person and refuted claims that he was arrogant when he still served in the government. He heaped praises on Farouk as an efficient person and a fixer who always wants things done. But when he broke ranks with Ruto, he attacked Farouk and accused him of wanting to control him like a remote control.
In 2022, Gachagua said Farouk contributed immensely to the success of the Kenya Kwanza administration, saying:
“You remember we used to say that ‘hatupangwingwi’ (we cannot be manipulated), but we allowed Farouk to manage us because of the impeccable work that he does. He could organise our events well, our choppers, and the food for our guests. We take pride in him,” said Gachagua.
At the time, Gachagua said that he admired Farouk and had even expressed his wish to the President to have the PA work for him, saying:
“If at any point during the campaigns Farouk appeared to be too strict, I wish to apologise on his behalf. When I requested to have Farouk work with me, the President told me off saying that I should look for my own ‘Farouk’. Now, I will look for one and have Farouk train him for me,” said Gachagua.
But days before his impeachment in June last year, Gachagua lashed out at Farouk accusing him of undermining his authority and claiming he wanted to order him around. Gachagua also claimed that Farouk created cold blood between him and Ruto.
But days before Gachagua’s impeachment on June last year, he lashed out at Farouk accusing him of undermining his authority claiming he wanted to order him around. Gachagua also claimed that Farouk created cold blood between him and Ruto.
This can be related to one particular incident surrounding a much-publicised government event that was scheduled to take place in Baringo County in June last year, the time when the rift between the President and Gachagua was becoming eminent.
Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi, together with Eldama Ravine MP Musa Sirma, had invited all MPs from the county for the launch of major development projects. According to the invites to the June 17 ceremony, the then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was to be the guest of honour. He was to officiate the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the modern NG-CDF Eldama Ravine Constituency office and the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the Kenya Medical Technical Institute (KMTC), Eldama Ravine Campus.
However, according to sources, the man ‘bestowed’ with the power reached out to Musa Sirma and team warning against the DP’s involvement. It is said that heads rolled and the said function was postponed to June 21. Gachagua did not attend the function. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah were the lead guests.
Gachagua wondered how a personal assistant could think they had authority over a sitting Deputy President elected by millions of Kenyans.
“Even some of his friends, his PA want to order me around on how to do my work. Is it possible? Even bloggers of the President want to tell me what to do. You know me, I have only two bosses, President Ruto, and the people of Kenya. What the President tells me to do, I have done and will continue to do. Respect him and be loyal to him. But I cannot allow people who hang around him, his friends, to also think they are my bosses. They are not. I am elected by the people of Kenya. I cannot confuse my boss with his friends. I am not that stupid. I know the difference,” the DP said.
Former Laikipia Women Representative Cate Waruguru has also waded into Farouk’s influence, disclosing how he allegedly controls speakers in events attended by the President.
She said Kibet’s influence started way before Ruto ascended to the office on the hill and that he was one of the proponents of the Deputy Presidency of Rigathi Gachagua.
“He used to control us. During the intrigues that preceded the picking of Gachagua as the Deputy President, his biggest supporters were President Ruto, Farouk Kibet, Ndindi Nyoro, Didmus Barasa and Oscar Sudi,” Waruguru said,
Although many people know him because of the power that he wields around the President, very little is known about this man. Few know about his personal life and family background. Fewer still know the path he has walked to the immense power that he exercises today.
His name first short to public limelight during the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal when he hit newspaper headlines for allegedly receiving money from a suspect in the NYS Sh791 million scandal.
The powerful Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee toyed with the thought of summoning him for interrogation on the NYS saga for a while before dropping the idea altogether.
Farouk’s name was also among a number of Kenyans who were mentioned by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for alleged involvement in the 2007 post-election violence.
Bensouda alleged that Farouk stormed the Eldoret Police Station at the height of the violence. She also accused him of tampering with ICC witnesses in the debacle that was the case against the DP at The Hague.
Although his influence grew stronger when Ruto became the Deputy President in 2013, Farouk started working with him (Ruto) in 1997 when he won the Eldoret North MP seat, flooring Reuben Chesire.
In a past interview with The Standard, Farouk disclosed that he was supporting Chesire’s bid before he jumped ship and threw his weight behind Ruto.
ALSO READ: Farouk Kibet: Ruto’s powerful right hand man
“When I told Ruto that I wanted to work for him, he embraced me and told me that he wanted me to be his brother although he knew well that I had not supported his bid. We made a covenant that we would work together and that covenant has never been broken,” he said.
Isaac Maiyo, Ruto’s long-time ally, supported Farouk’s remarks, saying:
“In 1997 when the DP was coming into politics, he (Farouk) was against us. As a matter of fact, Ruto didn’t like him because at some point, and in the rough of politics, he abused us. He could not come to terms with Ruto as a newcomer. As an on-the-ground political activist, he didn’t care a thing and was shameless. We thought that to have him in the opposing camp would be risky. We talked to him and he crossed over to our side. He turned out to be Ruto’s staunchest supporter and, up to this moment, he has never turned his back on him,” Maiyo said.
Although Farouk’s academic background is hazy, he was a past regular contributor to the mailbox in The Standard and the now-defunct Kenya Times newspapers. He is said to have attended Chepkemel Primary School, but few can pinpoint which high school he attended.
The camaraderie between Ruto and Farouk is unusual because Ruto is intellectually sophisticated, boasting of two university degrees and counting on, while Kibet has obscure educational credentials.
Despite him holding no known education credentials, elected leaders, both educated and influential, adhere to his instructions.
At one point in 2017, when former President Uhuru Kenyatta was bound to tour Nandi and Kericho counties, Farouk summoned leaders from the two counties, herded them into a hotel in Eldoret Town and led them in a single convoy to inspect the venues of the visit.
At the venues, he took absolute charge, directing where the dais should be erected and issuing other logistical directions and edicts. On the actual day of the launch of the various roads Nandi, Kibet was in his element.
Those who know him better say his mark of quality is his courage. A former journalist based in Eldoret said although Farouk is reserved, he is sly and naturally sharp
“We used to sit with him for days on end at a hotel called Asis in Eldoret town, taking tea and eating mandazi. Right now, I cannot access him,” the ex-journalist says.
He consoles himself with a rider:
“Anyway everybody has his time. This is his season. After that unusual act of courage, Ruto began to take him much more seriously and has since kept him very close. You can say he earned his place by the sweat of his brow and by demonstrating his mettle.”
“He can die for Ruto. I also know it to be a matter of fact that he does not postpone quarrels to some other day whenever people cross Ruto’s line. He deals with them there and then and that has given him quite a name,” he adds.
All the contradictions and mysteries in his life notwithstanding, all agree that Farouk has done pretty well for himself in the last few years. They also agree that to remain a constant in a big man’s life requires special skills which, though scorned by many, are an asset for the few who master them, like Farouk.
Other than assisting the President in planning and controlling the messaging, Farouk has off late been busy consolidating fundraisers in churches. He is currently the patron of over 11 churches. He also arranges sports in Rift Valley and sponsors bright but needy students.
As a man who avoids media attention, he did not respond to our calls and text messages to respond to some of the accusations levelled against him by his critics.
