Busy schedule for President as demos resume countrywide

Hundreds of youths staged anti-government protests along Moi Avenue, Nairobi on July 16, 2024. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

As Gen Z’s protests resumed across the country, it was a busy day for President William Ruto meeting foreign dignitaries at State House, Nairobi.

President Ruto, flanked by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi met with Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Micheál Martin who is on an official trip to Kenya.

Ruto said Kenya has partnered with Ireland for decades in education, agricultural research, labour migration, peace and security and multilateral cooperation at the United Nations, including at the Security Council served between 2021-2022.

“Our bilateral cooperation with Ireland goes back many decades. Our relations have expanded into education, especially in science, technical, engineering and mathematics studies,” said Ruto.

Martin said: “Delighted to meet President William Ruto at the start of my trip to Kenya. Discussed the deep connections between our nations, our shared commitment on climate action, and our work on peace and security.”

Thereafter, Martin launched the Young Scientists Kenya expo and lauded talent in science, technology and all STEM subjects on display by students.

The President also bid farewell to Switzerland Ambassador to Kenya, Valentin Zellweger at State House Nairobi, who is leaving the country after a four-year posting.

The President said they deliberated on various issues of interest for both countries, including negotiating a carbon credit agreement. “Kenya and Switzerland have the unique status of being host countries for United Nations agencies. Our two nations have strong ties which will be further boosted when discussions on sorting out double taxation are completed. Consequently, our business people will trade more. We are also negotiating a carbon credit agreement that will be mutually beneficial to our two nations. Kenya has already developed regulations that will guide carbon trading,” the President posted on his X handle.

President Ruto started the week in Nyandarua, where he attended a Sunday service. He affirmed that the country is undergoing a transformation and he will be focused to ensure it remains stable and united.

“I have turned a new page, pray for me as I plan to get new employees to help me actualise the promises we gave because we want to transform the country. We want to have a country that is steady, firm, prosperous and carries the aspirations of the people,” said the President.

On Monday, the President inspected various projects in Nakuru including modern markets and opened the Njoro Technical Training Institute.

“Technical and vocational colleges are central to the realization of the Kenya Kwanza Plan. Through them, our youth can acquire requisite knowledge and skills to drive our growth agenda,” he said.

It was also a week that the multi-sectoral dialogue was expected to happen but failed to kick off. President Ruto had announced last week that a national dialogue forum would begin on Monday and run throughout the week but as at Sunday, there was no actual structure.

The Gen Z, however vowed to resume their demonstrations, saying they will not allow their course be hijacked and they made good their threat yesterday.

On Monday, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) commended President Ruto, for finally listening to the cry of the people, which has been brought out sharply by the Gen Z protests.

The bishops, led by Maurice Muhatia lauded him for not signing the controversial Finance Bill, 2024 and dissolving the Cabinet to give space for a more competent, dependable and leaner team.

“These two main steps are building stones for better governance and therefore signal a process towards restoring hope among Kenyans. It is a step towards assuring Kenyans that building functional government systems to improve service delivery is possible,” Muhatia stated.

The Catholic bishops also commend the Gen Z for articulating many issues that Kenyans resonate with, saying they have been instrumental in driving change and highlighting the social ills.

“You have elicited a national even global conversation on what it means to be a democracy, the kind of leadership that should spur creativity and opportunities for citizens, the values and principles that define our public institutions,” said Muhatia.

The bishops, however, stated that there is a real risk that as the Gen Z push for a truly transformative agenda, they could become intolerant to ideas and visions that are not similar to theirs, which could can degenerate into anarchy.

They urged the Gen Z to open themselves up for inclusive conversations so that they are also enriched by perspectives that may not be obvious to them.