Why activists want Ruto stripped the green awards

Uyombo residents in Kilifi protest plan to build a nuclear plant. [File, Standard]

A group of environmentalists is calling for the revocation of President William Ruto’s recent awards in the US for his efforts to combat climate change, citing his government’s policies on the export of baobab trees, mining in forests and nuclear power generation as contradictory to climate action.

Led by Phylis Omido, the activists argue that these policies undermine the spirit of combating climate change, and that the awards received by Ruto mock genuine efforts to address shifting global temperatures and weather patterns.

Ruto was honoured with the 2024 Presidential Green Industrialization Investment Statesman of the Year Award in New York and recognised among the top 100 conservationists globally the Independent.

The awards were presented by the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 79 in New York, U.S.

Omido said environmental activists would launch a global petition to revoke the award, citing lack of transparency regarding use of funds during the tree planting holiday. “We reject the award given to President Ruto because the Utamaduni holiday was a big scam. We want transparency regarding how climate financing was used for those holidays Kenyans were given,” she said.