Enough is enough, President Ruto vows to 'crush' anti-government protests
President William Ruto.
A day to Tuesday's planned anti-government protests, President William Ruto has issued the strongest warning yet, vowing to stop the demos and crush what he termed as “tyranny of anonymous, faceless, formless, sponsored people” out to plunge Kenya into anarchy.
A tough-talking Ruto on Sunday said he would ''protect the nation'' while noting that he had already given everybody a chance to air their views.
"I want to promise you that there will be no more protests; they are going to stop. Enough is enough!” Dr Ruto said at Kipsonoi Primary School grounds in Bomet after attending a church service at Chebango African Gospel Church (AGC).
"Going forward we will protect the country. We will protect life and property. We will stop the looters, the killers, mayhem and anarchy because Kenya is a democracy and we want a peaceful, stable country. Our issues are resolved using democratic means.”
He warned the demonstrators, led by Generation Zoomers (GenZs), of dire consequences in the coming days, as he declared that it would not be business as usual.
"We will deal firmly and resolutely with those who are engaged in mayhem, anarchy, destroying people’s property, causing the death of Kenyans, loss of property and looting in the Republic of Kenya.”
A visibly frustrated Ruto listed the concessions had made to appease the demonstrators, including the withdrawal of Finance Bill 2024 and the sacking of the entire Cabinet, and vowed to take them to stop further loss of lives and destruction of property.
"I have given a chance to everybody to say whatever they wanted to say, it cannot continue like this. The country is much more important than any group of people. We must stand together as a nation, protect the nation and make sure Kenya is a democracy,” Dr Ruto stated.
"I dropped the Finance Bill, I called them to come to the table and talk to me, they refused and asked me to go to X, I went there but they ran away. I have called them for talks but they have refused, saying they are faceless and formless. It cannot continue like this….”
The president’s warning now sets the stage for a major clash between security officers and protesters on Tuesday.
Fix the nation
The demonstrators, who have vowed to shut down and fix the nation, are demanding the resignation of Dr Ruto, accusing his Kenya Kwanza regime of failing to deliver on the promises he made while seeking office in 2022.
The latest call for demos gained momentum hours after the Head of State announced nominees to fill 11 Cabinet slots, including six members who had been fired— Prof Kithure Kindiki (Interior), Ms Alice Wahome (Lands), Mr Aden Duale (Defence), Mr Davis Chirchir (Roads), Ms Soipan Tuya (Environment) and Ms Rebecca Miano (Attorney-General).
The protesters are demanding that the recycled nominees be dropped and new people given a chance to lead.
"As a country, we must never agree to replace our democracy with a dictatorship and tyranny of anonymous, faceless, formless, sponsored people who want to use violence and destruction of property and loss of lives to send our country to a state of anarchy," Dr Ruto said.
President Ruto dared those he claimed were “funding” the protesters to come out and give their alternative views about the country's governance.
"I challenge those shadowy and faceless people sponsoring and funding the violence to step forward...Let them not remain faceless," he said.
In the past one month, more than 50 people have been killed in the deadly protests, deaths blamed on Kenya police, with property worth billions of shillings destroyed.
Anti-Finance Bill protesters
In an unprecedented move, anti-Finance Bill protesters on June 26 stormed Parliament, paralysed business, vandalised it and lay siege on the hallowed House for hours, sending speakers and MPs scampering for their safety.
“There is no place in Kenya, in our democracy, laws or Constitution for anybody to have a free license to visit mayhem, anarchy, death and violence on the people…We have a government to ensure lives and property are safe and secure and we will do it,” Dr Ruto said.
Speaking for the first time after unveiling his first batch of 11 members of Cabinet secretaries, said the country had had enough deaths and destruction of property and the government would no longer take it lying down.
The sponsors of the violence he claimed, were out to cause chaos in the country and destabilise the government in the name of fighting for democracy.
At the same time, President Ruto asked the media to report responsibly and avoid what he termed as “fueling” the protests.
"The media should not be seen like they are encouraging the destruction of property and loss of lives that has been happening in the country. That is irresponsible reporting. If the country burns there will be nothing to report about and nowhere to report from," said the Head of State.
His comment comes days after the Press and media practitioners came under attack during and in the aftermath of the anti-government demos.
On July 17, veteran journalist Macharia Gaitho was arrested and harassed only a day after police shot and injured Media Max Journalist Catherine Wanjeri wa Kariuki in Nakuru while CNN photojournalist Fabien Muhire was sprayed with teargas in Nairobi.
