'You're fat, you're skinny...' Mchongoano galore as Ruto, Rigathi trade insults over weight

President William Ruto and his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua, currently two of Kenya's fiercest political adversaries, appear to have changed their campaign messaging in the place of policies and governance methodology; the leaders have gone bare-knuckled, publicly attacking each other's physical attributes and hilariously so.

The two leaders, who are as distinctively dissimilar physically as they are politically, are now openly mocking each other's body physiques, an apparent collapse of all civility and a steep decline into mudslinging and raw mockery.

Gachagua opened the floodgates of scorn when, at a United Opposition event in Kiambu, he roused laughter from the audience after pointing out Ruto's supposed weight loss.

"How much is enough, Mr Ruto? Just how much is enough? Unataka pesa ngapi? Lakini uzuri hata akiwa na hio pesa yote halali. Si mmeona amekonda mpaka maskio imekuja juu?" He asked, as the crowd roared in laughter.

Less than 24 hours later, President Ruto issued a vicious rejoinder, slamming the United Opposition leaders for their supposed gluttony, while also asking them to hit the gym and watch their appetites.

"You're claiming that I've cut weight. I'm intelligent enough to know when to cut weight, so that I can concentrate on what I want to do. I'm disciplined enough to know how much to eat, so I can stay alert...." he stated.

The president, in an apparent reply to Gachagua, intimated that his detractors were such gluttons that they could barely stay awake through meetings.

"Go check yourselves in the mirror. Check how you look. Your head is swollen, and your tummy is almost ripping the shirt apart. Tafuteni gym kwanza muende mfanye exercise kidogo. Na mpunguze kukula chakula mingi, ndio muwache kulala kwa mkutano, ata mnaharibu hewa mkiwa mmelala..." he mocked.

Appearing to be bracing for an all-out vocal combat, the president vowed to be ready to get messy, openly admitting that he was willing to get personal, as that was the direction the Opposition was taking, too.

"If you want us to go down that road, I'm ready for you. 1% of my time, I'll deal with you... 99% of my time, I will serve the people of Kenya," Ruto vowed.

The politics of personality is an old tactic that has been employed by politicians all around the world.

While charisma has always been a campaign staple, Kenya seems to have entered an era where a rival’s physical attributes and mental acuity are no longer off-limits - they are the primary targets.

Attacking a rival’s physical appearance is one of the oldest, yet most effective, logical fallacies in the book. In today’s high-definition, social-media-driven landscape, these attacks serve several strategic purposes and quickly shift the conversation from policy to machismo, prioritising strength and dominance in an attempt to dehumanise your opponent.

Back in 2016, as Barack and Michelle Obama endured a barrage of racist, insulting and derogatory attacks from their opponents, Michelle Obama coined the famous motto: "When they go low, we go high".

The now-classic slogan served as guidance for responding to cruelty, bullying, or negativity by maintaining dignity and refusing to stoop to a similar level, rather than reacting with equivalent pettiness.

But in Kenya, when the big boys get in the ring, no one really has time to go high - it's a staggering race to the bottom, where the most offensive combatant often takes the cake.