William Ruto of Kenya waved his passion among the ordinary people, hoping that he could deliver on his promise to improve his life. Instead, he faces relentless criticism – seen as unparalleled in the history of the country.
He seemed frustrated by the intensity of the rebound, asking Wednesday why such public outrage was never carried out against his predecessors, including Daniel Arap Moi, who had been reigning with an iron fist for more than two decades, marked by political repression and human rights violations, while others left in the controversial clouds.
Ruto poses on Wednesday: “All this chaos, why not target [former presidents] Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta…Why contempt and arrogance? ”
Analysts describe the current wave of public anger at President Ruto as more than 100 people killed in the past year, uniting Kenyans among race, religion and class teachers.
Protests against his government began only a year after he came to power. In the three-year period, many Kenyans now want to let him go – in relentless protests, calling for “ruto must go” and “ruto wantam” (ruto lasts for one term).
When Ruto competed for the presidency, he portrayed himself as an ordinary man who came from a childhood marked by poverty and resilience. He called on ordinary people to take the people they could rise from chicken sellers to president.
As with earlier this year, when newspapers splashed the title asking if Ruto was “Kenya’s most hated president”, this view often responded to this sentiment in social media platforms and public discourse.
It marks a huge change in Kenyan politics, often shaped by racial loyalty and class division. Just as Ruto is seen as exceeding those obstacles to holding the presidency, the same dynamic now seems to be in him.
This week, the term “We are all Kikuyus” tends toward social media toward attempts to reintroduce racial divisions that have long plagued Kenyan politics. The counter-narrative of “We are all Kenyans” emerged, but failed to gain a similar appeal – some thought it was an expression of trying to dilute solidarity in the first message.
Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group from Kenya, supports Ruto in the 2022 elections, and Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy representative from the region, who is his agent.
But last year, Gachagua made a dramatic impotence process from the Office Hound, which he described as betrayal, sparking dissatisfaction in the area. Afterwards, some politicians with Ruto accuse the Kikuyu elite of fueling opposition to the president.
Political analyst Mark Bichachi said opposition to the president was not driven racially, but was happening in various communities in urban and rural areas.
He called “public protests and regimes openly against the president” both “unprecedented” and “historical” and even surpassed the political unrest in which Moi led a party-state in the 1980s and 1990s.
The period was marked by cruel repression and bloody struggles for multiparty democracy, but Mr. Bikach told the BBC that this did not create the pressure on Ruto now, adding that the tension at the time was related to the Cold War and felt throughout the continent.
But Dr. Njoki Wamai said the criticism raised by the president is not rare, but in times of crisis, part of the political tradition.
“All presidents are unconstitutional and contrary to the will of the Kenyan people and have been facing a lot of criticism,” she told the BBC.
She pointed to past leaders such as founding president Jomo Kenyatta and his successor Moi – who both faced a strong backlash and loss of public trust at critical moments – including after the assassination of the main political leader and the 1982 coup against MOI.
Past Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi also faces a strong rebound [Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images]
“What’s the difference [this time] “The scale of information dissemination is higher,” she said.
She also describes Ruto as always “very conservative,” suggesting that his political views conflict with the more liberal values accepted by many Kenyans, especially young people.
She believes this ideological mismatch leads to increasing tensions.
The current resistance movement is mainly led by youth, online, dispersed and seen as leaderless, mostly unfolding outside the established political class. They have been angry at the high cost of living, active taxes, corruption and police brutality since last year.
The president said Wednesday that pointed out that racial politics and incitement were intended to exacerbate the latest unrest: Let’s stop racial divisions, hatred, pride and contempt. We are all Kenyans”.
He vowed to use “any means necessary” to maintain peace and stability. He called on police to shoot protesters targeting businesses rather than killing them. His remarks sparked more anger and mockery.
Since last year, the Kenyan government has responded to protests and protests against brutal repression, including mass arrests and alleged kidnapping by security agents.
Police accused of using too much force to calm protests [Getty Images]
Rights groups said the strategy only deepened public anger and alienated citizens, with police accusing the use of excessive force to calm the protests.
More than 100 people have been killed in a row of anti-government protests since June last year. Monday’s latest record claimed 38 lives, marking the deadliest day to date.
These deaths did not serve as a catalyst for police reform or push for efforts to appease protesters, but instead often brought sparks to subsequent protests, turning sadness into anger.
The government blamed protesters for the violence, accusing them of attacking the police station and even attempting to launch a coup.
Political communication expert Dr. Hesbon Owilla called the most intense turmoil in Kenya’s history “probably the most intense anger against the regime.” This brings together people from all walks of life, he said.
He attributes it to how the president communicates with the people. Ruto’s commitment to raising the fate of ordinary people is “real, very real” and transforms the campaign from racial mobilization to problem-based politics, he said.
“Then he became president. We are still waiting. The situation that Kenyans are going through is worse,” he told the BBC, capturing the deep disappointment of many Kenyans.
He said that with past governments, Ruto made and continued to make, propaganda commitments, resulting in the breakdown of expectations.
“Disappointment is causing anger,” he said.
Ruto promises to support the interests of ordinary people [Bloomberg via Getty Images]
He used the orders to shoot protesters, and he also said that when the president often spoke, silence might better serve him – overexposing himself and inadvertently personalizing serious national problems.
As a result, when criticized, it tends to point directly to him rather than attributed to the failure of the governance system.
Even so, Ruto repeatedly highlighted the efforts his government has made to improve the lives of all Kenyans, pointing to the government’s flagship affordable housing projects, universal health plans, digital jobs and overseas employment plans, which are key achievements.
While inspecting one of the housing units this week, he acknowledged the severity of youth unemployment, but stressed that the problem was predated by his presidency.
He insisted that his administration was the first to take a deliberate measure to resolve the crisis, citing initiatives like housing projects have created hundreds of thousands of jobs.
The president called for patience because the problem takes time to resolve.
However, patience, especially in the high cost of living, unmet expectations and growing frustration, is not something most Kenyans think they can afford.
Some of these flagship plans are huge costs for Kenyans, who now have a 1.5% housing tax and a 2.75% health insurance tax deducted from their monthly income. The pain of paying some of these higher taxes dominated daily conversations, especially when it was believed that higher taxes did not lead to better public services.
Dr. Owilla said it is credited that some initiatives like universal healthcare programs have had a big impact, while others may end up serving many.
But Mr. Bikach believes that the government “lost people’s feelings” and that despite public dissatisfaction, its tone remains unchanged.
He said the issue is unlikely to change based on the performance of the government – describing it as a “love-hate relationship” between the people and the president.
He concluded that this is “how we find our place”, referring to the strong resentment that the president now faces, the resentment that the president once was “the most popular, praised leader into the Kenyan country.”
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