Echoes of fallout as Ruto, DP fail to present one front over tax protests

KDF officers are received with jubilation by demonstrators along Moi Avenue during demonstrations called after a nationwide deadly protest against a controversial now-withdrawn tax bill left over 20 dead in downtown Nairobi, on June 27, 2024. [AFP]

Nairobi looked like a war zone before and after the military met protesters in the city’s downtown.

As the imposing armoured personnel carriers rolled into town, cheers erupted. The masses chanted “Ruto must go” and “jeshi yetu” as they escorted Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers on patrol, an unexpected turn of events.

On Tuesday, President William Ruto said the government’s response to the anti-tax protests had reached a turning point, announcing a crackdown against protesters that would spare no one.

The deployment of the KDF marked the escalation of the government’s response, with their presence observed by Kenyans on X as “intimidation tactics”. 

An uneasy calm had swept through the city Thursday morning, with pockets of anti-Ruto protests erupting in the afternoon.

And despite the promised 10-million countrywide march failing to materialise, there was general paralysis not just of Nairobi, stagnant with the stench of teargas, but other parts of the country.

The bigger paralysis exists in the government. On the eve of a planned march to State House, a day the nation expected a united response to its current crisis, Kenya’s top leadership were at loggerheads.

As they crackdown on protesters, the police have turned a blind eye to armed military officers, amid accusations that the latter were sponsored by the State. Armed persons on Thursday patrolled Nairobi and Eldoret, with many questioning why the police let them roam free.

Barely hours after the President yielded to public pressure and withdrew the controversial Finance Bill, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was throwing intelligence agencies under the bus.

Ahead of the briefing, many, wondered why the pair did not present a united front, thus speculating a bitter fallout. Gachagua missed the State House address, holding a press briefing in Mombasa. And both men would expose contradictions in the Executive’s stance.

Ruto, who hours earlier had promised a crackdown, had changed tune, saying he was willing to engage protesting youth. But, as observed by Kenyans on X,  who had logged into a Space meeting of more than 100,000 participants, there were inconsistencies in the President’s words and his government’s actions.

For starters, he only acknowledged the deaths of six protesters against evidence that more than 20 Kenyans died in the demos.

Similarly, abductions of influential social media users went on Wednesday evening, with brutality witnessed against protesters yesterday. Four demonstrators were shot in Migori.

Many had wanted better handling of protesters, with international community urging restraint and investigations into incidents of alleged police brutality.

On Wednesday, Ruto said those killed in the demos would be “accounted for”, but did not specify the actions that would follow.

KDF officers patrol along Moi avenue on June 27,2024 when protesters demonstrating for the resignation of President William Ruto engaged police in a day long running battle. [Collins Kweyu,Standard]

The inconsistencies also featured on Gachagua’s speech. While the Deputy President issued a passionate defence of the Head of State, he said he was not aware that the masses were against the Finance Bill. On the same breath, he would claim that the government had stopped listening to the masses.

By targeting National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director-General Noordin Haji, the deputy president risked taking back the nation back to an era Kenya Kwanza said belonged to the past - an era of intimidation against holders of critical office.

His speech came amid a power tussle pitting the President and his deputy, with claims that the NIS had planned to ‘frame’ Gachagua for the protests pointing to a worsening situation.

Such dysfunction has led many questioning the Kenya Kwanza’s capacity to govern.

“This government has lost it. It must go now. 2027 is too far to wait. Once people have lost confidence in you, just leave. Kenya needs a fresh start,” lawyer Ekuru Aukot posted on X.

Parliament, it seems, has lost all its trust among the public diminished. MPs, who Wednesday angered Kenyans by clapping behind the Head of State, played deaf to calls by Kenyans to reject the bill, which led to an invasion of the august House and the setting ablaze of a section of it.

A raft of demands, allegedly by the protesters, lay bare their mistrust in the political class. Among them include the reconstitution of the electoral commission to facilitate the recalling of all Members of Parliament and Ruto’s resignation.

“This government has lost it. It must go now. 2027 is too far to wait. Once people have lost confidence in you, just leave. Kenya needs a fresh start,” lawyer Ekuru Aukot posted on X.

Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo called for the disbandment of unnecessary offices overburdening a cash-strapped mwananchi.

“We need to see all unconstitutional offices scrapped off. We don’t want to hear about CASs, the offices of the wife of the President, the wife of the Deputy President, and the wife of the Prime Minister. It’s these heavy expenditures that are cutting out money that should go into healthcare and education,” she said.