NAIROBI — In his most dramatic capitulation since Parliament was set on fire last month, Kenyan President William Ruto fired almost his entire cabinet on Thursday, following weeks of deadly protests over government corruption and tax hikes that have electrified a generation.
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.
International Plaudits
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.
“Recent events … have brought us to an inflection point,” Ruto said in his brief televised address as he announced the dismissal of his attorney general and all ministers except the prime cabinet secretary and foreign minister. “I will slay the dragon of corruption.”
Kenya’s protesters — who have forced a slew of government climbdowns — are pushing for a future in which young, educated voters can successfully demand change. Their determination has also sent uneasy shivers through other African governments grappling with their own angry youth — a Ghanaian lawmaker recently cited the Kenyan protests as a reason to pass responsible legislation.
“
“It is a step in the right direction that he fired his cabinet, because they were part of the bigger problem,” said Happy Olal, the coordinator of an alliance of rights organizations based in informal settlements. He had spent Thursday visiting wounded protesters in hospitals. “But we are still insisting on police accountability. … It is not easy to dialogue without justice.”
Buyer technology interaction design partnership business-to-business learning curve infographic vesting period angel investor mass market rockstar ecosystem twitter growth hacking. Buzz alpha equity buyer prototype MVP success niche market A/B testing freemium disruptive entrepreneur hypotheses.
Protest might Never stop
After an initial denunciation of the protesters as criminals, Ruto has tried to be more conciliatory. After Parliament was invaded and partially set on fire, he withdrew the finance bill and accompanying tax hikes that sparked the protests — prompting international ratings agencies to downgrade debt-laden Kenya — and then scrapped the millions of dollars allocated to the offices of the first and second ladies.
The protests continued, so Ruto announced restrictions on the number of advisers attached to ministries, called for a national dialogue and banned public fundraisers, seen by many as a way for politicians to buy influence using stolen cash. It wasn’t enough.
So he fired the cabinet.
“This is a political earthquake. It’s quite unprecedented — we haven’t seen a decision so dramatic in Kenya for at least two decades,” said Murithi Mutiga, the program director for Africa at the International Crisis Group think tank. “It’s very encouraging.”
Since they began last month, the protests have become a feature of daily life in Nairobi.
“No! No! No! Ruto must go!” shouted a protester last week, dreadlocks spilling into her eyes as a friend used an iPhone to film young people facing off with police firing canisters of tear gas in central Nairobi. Groups of plainclothes police, handcuffs dangling from their belts, prowled the streets hunting masked protesters who were spray-painting slogans on street signs.
Even after the tax hikes were gone, protesters focused on how government officials allocated themselves millions of dollars for furniture and flew around on private jets.
