Kenya: A week after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by his lost opponent in a closely contested election, William Ruto was inaugurated in as Kenya’s fifth president on Tuesday. He won the election by casting himself as an underdog “hustler” fighting on the establishment.
Ruto, who served as vice president for the past ten years, must now deal with an economic crisis in the richest and most stable country in East Africa, where food and gasoline prices are skyrocketing, the unemployment rate is high, and the public debt is increasing.
At the ceremony, Ruto declared, “A village boy has become the president of Kenya,” to loud applause from the audience.
He vowed to make 40 million half-price bags of fertiliser available the next week as a severe drought exacerbates a serious food crisis in East Africa.
Both sides hurled charges of corruption throughout a profoundly personal, bitter campaign, and the 55-year-old won the election last month despite a public rejection by his boss, outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who declared Ruto was “not suitable for government.”
Ruto was charged with scamming his way to victory by Raila Odinga, the senior opposition leader who was Kenyatta’s intended successor. However, Odinga accepted the Supreme Court’s decision maintaining the outcome, allaying worries of political unrest such to that experienced after contested elections in 2007 and 2017.
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In a deep purple stole with the word “PEACE” embroidered on it, Bishop Mark Kariuki proclaimed at the event on Tuesday, “There should be no retribution.”
Both sides hurled charges of corruption throughout a profoundly personal, bitter campaign, and the 55-year-old won the election last month despite a public rejection by his boss, outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who declared Ruto was “not suitable for government.”
Ruto was charged with scamming his way to victory by Raila Odinga, the senior opposition leader who was Kenyatta’s intended successor. However, Odinga accepted the Supreme Court’s decision maintaining the outcome, allaying worries of political unrest such to that experienced after contested elections in 2007 and 2017.
In a deep purple stole with the word “PEACE” embroidered on it, Bishop Mark Kariuki proclaimed at the event on Tuesday, “There should be no revenge.”
In a region where some presidents have held power for decades, Kenya’s democratic credentials will be enhanced by the peaceful transition of power.
Numerous African leaders attended, including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who has been president for 36 years, and Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, who has been in power for 23 years.
Before outlining his next measures in his speech, Ruto greeted each head of state by name.
He promised to uphold Kenya’s objectives to produce 100% clean energy by 2030 and to give the police financial independence from the president’s office.
Ruto said on Twitter that he had appointed four judges for the court of appeals, as well as judges for the land court and the environment, in the following hours.
Vibrant Groups
By five in the morning, the 60,000-seat Kasarani Sports Centre in Nairobi was crowded with supporters of Ruto donning the yellow and green of his party. To the sounds of a band, they danced and waved miniature flags of other countries.
Dancer Juma Dominic stated as he and his group warmed up, “He is our fellow youngster! I know he will provide us more chance.”
The stadium was packed at 5 a.m., according to a tweet from the National Police Service. and urged residents to remain at home, but hordes persisted in trying to swarm inside.
The wealthy businessman and former roadside chicken vendor Ruto campaigned for office in an effort to overthrow the influential families who have controlled Kenyan politics since the country’s independence in 1963. The sons of the country’s first vice president and president, respectively, are Odinga and Kenyatta.
That message, embodied by his party’s wheelbarrow symbol, struck a chord with teenagers who are persistently underemployed and families who are struggling due to poverty and widespread corruption, which Kenyatta publicly admitted he was powerless to control.
Boniface Mwangi, one of Kenya’s most well-known civil society leaders, claimed on Monday that Kenyatta’s embrace, overconfidence, and lack of organisation had doomed Odinga’s campaign.
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