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State capture? President Ruto regime ‘defined by abductions and arrests’
A protester is arrested by police on Joseph Kang’ethe Road in Kibra, Nairobi, on July 19, 2023
President William Ruto’s leadership style has come under scrutiny, with opposition leaders alleging the return of the dark Kanu era following reports of arrests, abductions, torture and killings.
Political leaders, the clergy, diplomats and activists have urged for sobriety and respect of the Constitution by opposition and government leaders.
Some leaders and activists actually feel the President has ordered an operation against Kenyans in the wake of anti-government protests.
The operation, they insist, is aimed at suppressing dissent.
And it is not just the brute force police are using against protesters that has put the regime in sharp focus.
Opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leaders are complaining about the “state capture of Parliament and other institutions by President Ruto”.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader, Raila Odinga, says the actions against protesting Kenyans, arrests and “abductions” of its leaders are dictatorial and “a return to the dark past”.
National Assembly Minority Leader, Opiyo Wandayi, on Sunday accused the President of profiling and brutalising residents of Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya counties during the a three-day operation by police.
Security officers were accused of shooting and torturing people as well as invading private property.
“What is happening in Nyanza appears to be state-sanctioned. People are being pulled out of their houses and shot or beaten to death by police officers,” the Ugunja MP said in a statement, referring to the operation as “genocide”.
“The genocide-like operation is not accidental. It is coordinated and premeditated. It is being coordinated by political and government leaders from the community and outside.”
He compared what is happening to the “operation against Jews in Europe by Adolf Hitler.”
“Never in the history of our country have Luos gone through systematic genocide-like treatment. What is going on is way beyond what happened in 1969 or the tribal clashes of 1991/92,” Mr Wandayi said.
“Neither (first president) Jomo Kenyatta nor (second president) Daniel arap Moi subjected us to what Ruto is subjecting us to. I assure our people to take heart. God never sleeps.”
Azimio co-principal, Eugene Wamalwa, said Kenyans must rise and say no to the “Ruto dictatorship”.
“The regime is killing and maiming young Kenyans as the world watches. Our friends must rise to the occasion, speak out and say no to these killings,” Mr Wamalwa said.
On Sunday, the civil society called for respect for human rights and media freedom.
It followed the police killings and attack on journalists as witnessed at Milimani courts last week.
“We are appalled by the alarming incidents...where peaceful protesters, exercising their democratic right to picket, were met with unnecessary force and arbitrary and unlawful arrests,” the joint statement by the groups says.
“We call upon authorities to respect and protect these rights, allowing peaceful demonstrations to take place without intimidation or undue restrictions.”
The statement was signed by representatives of Transparency International Kenya, Centre for Multiparty Democracy, Elections Observation Group, Mzalendo Trust, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium, Electoral Law and Governance Institute for Africa.
Community Initiative Action Group Director, Chris Owala, also voiced his concerns, accusing the government of “suspending the Constitution”.
“Even Kanu was better during its sunset days. Kenyans of goodwill need to call for a national dialogue conference on protecting the Constitution,” Mr Owala said.
“Police used excessive and, in a number of cases, unnecessary force, especially on people who were not rioting. Individual liability on officers and those in command is necessary.”
Mr Owalo added that Inspector-General of Police, Japhet Koome, should take responsibility and resign, citing the case of a police officer shooting a student nine times in Kisumu.
Democratic Party Secretary-General, Jacob Haji, called for dialogue and cautioned police against excessive use of force.
“The indiscriminate shooting of innocent protesters is wrong and no sane Kenyan should support it,” Dr Haji said.
“Equally, protesters should not to break the law. We don’t want our country to slip into anarchy.”
Political analyst, Gitile Naituli, said the high cost of living is a small matter as far as Kenya’s economic crisis is concerned.
“The real disease is an insanely corrupt and wasteful government, a government that is hopelessly clueless and patently incompetent. A government that remains stuck in the campaign trenches a year after it won the right to govern the country is not what Kenyans want,” Prof Naituli said.
He added that the unrest is due to the popular policies of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“How do you increase salaries and expand the wage bill when the country is spending the equivalent of 60 per cent of tax revenue on debt servicing? Is it that these people are in denial or hell-bent on sending the economy to the dogs?” he asked.
After his victory was confirmed by the Supreme Court and subsequently being sworn in, President Ruto continued to portray himself as a democrat.
He has frequently spoken of reconciliation and building bridges.
Months later, signs of a ruthless president began to show, with Dr Ruto reminding all that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He even claimed to have made Gen Francis Ogolla the Chief of Defence Forces.
Facing a mounting resistance from the Opposition through the anti-government protests and increasing discontent even from his Kenya Kwanza enclave over punitive taxes contained in the controversial Finance Bill 2023, the Head of State has adopted a rather contrarian philosophy to his earlier belief in democracy.
In April, he tersely warned Azimio leaders against their plans to resume their anti-government street protests, reminding them that he is the Commander in Chief.
“Mimi ndio commander-in-chief. Nyinyi mtajua hamjui. Wawache hiyo mchezo,” said the Head of State, signaling to a man who is ready to rule with an iron fist.
Political leaders opposed to policies by his administration have paid the price with the Head of State quickly adopting a “it is my way or the highway” leadership style.
The President has also been accused of meddling in the running of independent institutions while also threatening officials and allies alike who do not want to toe the line.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the President’s party, vice chairperson Seth Panyako resigned in a huff from the party this year, citing an alleged phone call from the Head of State over his opposition to the housing levy.
“I do not believe it is the same William Ruto I sat with when he was the deputy president. He has changed dramatically. He has become somebody else,” said the trade unionist.
President Ruto is currently not seeing eye-to-eye with Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba for her opposition to the contentious Finance Bill which the Head of State assented to.
During a function in Narok County ahead of the debate on the Bill, the President made a veiled threat to MPs opposed to the bill, calling for a public voting on the bill to help him identify MPs who are against his development agenda.
“I am waiting to see the MPs who will oppose the finance bill, then Kenyans will know he or she is an enemy of the people and is against employing jobless youth through the Housing Fund,” said Dr Ruto.
His deputy, however, went ahead to tell legislators who would oppose the bill to forget about development projects in their areas.
Several actions by the Kenya Kwanza administration have painted a different picture altogether.
The President unilaterally asked Parliament to drop a tax proposal on digital content while the same was still undergoing public participation.
In a move seen as usurping the role of a committee collecting views from the public, President Ruto even went ahead to host content creators at State House.
Mr Odinga has faulted President Ruto’s leadership style asking his political nemesis to allow his officers to work without interference.
“Why do we not see ministers addressing key policy matters? It is the President who is making important policy decisions,” said the ODM leader.
But it is not only the former prime minister who has criticised the President's leadership style, ODM chairperson John Mbadi recently described Dr Ruto’s style of leadership as pure State capture, saying it is time he is called back to order.
“What he does defies all traits of good governance. He cannot go to the level where he is the one to decide on which cleaner to be hired in which office. He needs to give his officers space to work.”
Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni summed up the President’s leadership style as one where “anybody who appears to give their alternative views is shown the door”.
“(President) Ruto does not listen to anyone but himself,” said the former Ndaragua MP.
Dr Ruto is also accused of unilaterally firing ex-DCI boss George Kinoti after falling out in the run-up to the 2022 elections, even though the National Police Service Act stipulates that a DCI boss can only be fired if found guilty after a petition is filed with the National Police Service.
