Kenya president fires cabinet after nationwide anti-corruption protests
The Peninsula
Nairobi: Kenyan President William Ruto fired almost his entire cabinet on Thursday, after weeks of deadly protests around the country over proposed ta...
Nairobi: Kenyan President William Ruto fired almost his entire cabinet on Thursday, after weeks of deadly protests around the country over proposed tax hikes and government corruption.
Even after the tax hikes were abandoned, the protests by young people in the capital and around the country have continued, focusing increasingly on what they describe as a corrupt political class. Activists have said the demonstrations will continue despite the president’s latest move.
Just six weeks earlier, Ruto was riding high after a trip to Washington to meet President Biden, the first state visit by an African president since 2008. The visit demonstrated that Kenya’s boisterous democracy, long-standing security cooperation and free-market policies had cemented its status as America’s closest ally in an increasingly turbulent region.
Ruto also won international plaudits for his environmental commitments and staunch support for Western diplomatic priorities, including his recent deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti to help bring order to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation.
But like other leaders around Africa, Ruto is facing a swelling tide of anger from his own citizens. Africa’s median age is 18, and members of the generation coming of age are increasingly incensed by government profligacy and graft as they face a jobless future and soaring prices. In many nations, that fury has supported coups that overthrew long-standing Western allies, or fed revolutions that disintegrated into civil wars or failed amid brutal crackdowns.