President's five major moves in fight to save his administration

President William Ruto. [PCS]

A defiant President William Ruto has tried to shrug off calls for his resignation from Gen Zs during what could have been the most frantic weeks of his presidency, culminating in the dissolution of his Cabinet.

An analysis of recent events indicates that anxiety has hit the Kenya Kwanza administration, with the President’s inner circle desperate to regain public support.

Critics believe Ruto is in a tough spot after the protests, which are akin to a vote of no confidence in his administration and needs to work extra hard to gain control of the country.

It has been an intense three weeks as Ruto fights to save his presidency, dismissing his Cabinet, declining to sign the Finance Bill 2024, being grilled by Gen-Zs on X-Space, holding two Cabinet meetings within a short span, and meeting opposition leaders.

On Friday, Ruto who initially appeared calm as the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests snowballed into a blown-out war, bastardized his Cabinet before he dismissed it saying “Kenyan wanted more.”

The dissolution of his scandal-plagued Cabinet is one of the things that Ruto did to appease the masses pushing for his resignation.

Ruto said his regime was at a point where it was necessary to withdraw the Finance Bill that required a review and reorganization of the budget and fiscal management.

He has promised to engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations to set up a broad-based government to assist him deliver his pre-election promises.

“Upon reflection, listening keenly to what the people of Kenya have said and after a holistic appraisal of the performance of my Cabinet and its achievements, I have decided to dismiss with immediate effect all the Cabinet Secretaries and the Attorney General,” said Ruto.

The dismissal of the Cabinet, however, was one of the firefights the President engaged in for the last three weeks as the crowds in the anti-government protest swelled across the country.

Within the weeks, the President held two Cabinet meetings and was grilled on the X-space by the overzealous Kenyans who wanted nothing less than the dismissal of the whole Cabinet.

Before the meeting, President Ruto was forced to reject the Finance Bill following nationwide protests including the insurrection of Parliament Buildings, which left 23 dead and scores injured.

He said in a press conference on June 26 after the deadly protests: “I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn. The people have spoken.”

This did not appease the protestors who were pushing for the overhaul of his administration. As calls for his resignation increased, Ruto reached out to ODM leader Raila Odinga and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka.

Uncharacteristically, Ruto paraded Raila and Kalonzo during the signing of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) (Amendment) Bill, 2024 into law.

Gen-Zs demanded reconstitution of the IEBC to pave the way for the hiring of new commissioners and the recall of incompetent legislators. Ruto heeded the calls and signed the bill.

During the signing of the Bill, Raila called for the end of street protests to give dialogue a chance, sparking a backlash from the Gen Zs. The former Prime Minister would be forced to hit a hasty retreat.

“I am told you are leaderless and that you do not want a handshake. The message is at home,” said Raila after Gen Zs “greeted him” - a euphemism for online bullying.

Political analysts and economists believe that Ruto is facing a herculean task of digging himself out of the hole his administration has found itself in. They say there may be no quick fixes to his woes.

The analysts say that some of the problems bedeviling the KK regime were inherited from past administrations, but insist that some are of Ruto’s own making.

“He inherited some challenges like the significantly high debt portfolio. But since his assumed office, things have gone from bad to worse,” said Ken Gichinga, chief economist at Mentoria Economics.

UDA’s tax policies have made the payslips of Kenyans thinner, said Gichinga, adding that the new deductions like the housing levy “makes the alleged drop of cost of household goods a joke.”

Economists say that the new deductions have seen what employees take home reduce by over Sh4,000. Gichinga said unpredictable tax policies and the high cost of doing business scared away investors.

The President is also facing the tough task of rebuilding trust in his circle and as well as his deputy Rigathi Gachagua.

During the protests, the two appeared to be reading from different scripts after holding two separate press briefings.

Prof Macharia Munene said that Gachagua goofed and that his decision to portray himself as an equal to the president would be counterproductive to his political career in the long run.

“The DP’s politics have been mutating since he was sworn in. Since the first day, he has been saying that the government belongs to shareholders, a narrative the President has openly rejected,” said Munene.

He said after the idea of shareholding failed to pick momentum, the DP started to sell himself as the king of the mountain. Even then, he was met by an equal force from the young Turks in the region.

“It was after members of Ruto’s kitchen cabinet from the region stopped him that started to court former president Uhuru Kenyatta,” said Munene.

Analysts agree that after the Ruto and  Raila rapprochement, the Head of State assumed that the biggest obstacle to his ambitious economic policy was out of his way.

Prof Munene said that Ruto’s Achilles heel was his incompetent Cabinet and “his failure to understand political economy” because he doesn’t like history.

“He publicly told Kenyans that some of the people in the Cabinet are incompetent. He should fire them and return the military to the barracks because his priority must be restoring his image which is very bad at the moment. Taking the military to the streets also demoralized the police. It is an admission that they have failed, are incompetent or you do not trust them. It is not a good thing,” said Munene.

Mr Gichinga and Prof Munene said Ruto cannot afford to deploy Machiavelli’s tactics in “The Prince” while dealing with the problems facing Kenyans.

“World Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF policies cannot be imposed on Kenyans. They will reject it,” said Gichinga.