NAIROBI - Kenya’s President William Ruto campaigned for the August 2022 election as a man of the people, but deadly protests over his economic policies have demolished his image domestically and tarnished his standing abroad, analysts say. The embattled leader is facing searing criticism since he won the hotly-contested election, with the discontent -- mostly led by young Gen-Z Kenyans -- rattling the nation, a traditionally stable Western ally in an often chaotic region. The protests were sparked by proposed tax hikes in the 2024 finance bill, but have snowballed into wider disillusionment at Ruto’s top-down style of governance, resulting in the most serious crisis of his presidency -- and catching his administration totally off guard.
At least 60 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-June, with police sometimes firing live bullets at protesters, and dozens more are missing, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the government-funded rights commission KNCHR and Amnesty Kenya. Ruto had initially described the agitation over what Kenyans see as widespread government corruption and inefficiencies as “treasonous” and vowed to quash the unrest “at whatever cost”. But he later backtracked, taking a series of drastic steps to address public anger including withdrawing the finance bill, dismissing almost his entire cabinet and making deep budget cuts.
Activists have vowed to return to the streets Thursday to again demand the resignat.