After a month-long controversy over his electoral victory, William Ruto was formally sworn in as Kenya’s fifth president at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday. Ruto, who describes himself as a “hustler,” owing to his humble past, has a plethora of challenges ahead of him—an economic emergency, looming drought and food crisis, and regional political turmoil.
Describing his victory as a “momentous occasion,” Ruto proclaimed “A village boy has become the president of Kenya!” as the crowd cheered. In his inaugural address, he pledged to “work with all Kenyans irrespective of who they voted for” to tackle the country’s socio-economic challenges.
On behalf of IEBC & myself, I wish to thank H.E. President @WilliamsRuto for recognizing @IEBCKenya for having raised the bar of integrity and the standard of public service in Kenya. I feel proud to have made my contribution towards strengthening democracy in Kenya. God bless 🇰🇪
— Wafula Chebukati (@WChebukati) September 13, 2022
He praised the efforts of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), security forces, and the Supreme Court in facilitating a “transparent and credible election” that “demonstrated the maturity of our democracy, the robustness of our institutions and the resilience of our people.”
To this end, he vowed to grant greater financial independence and operational autonomy to the Judiciary and the National Police to aid the “fight against corruption, and end the political weaponisation of the criminal justice system.”
'These [financial] interventions will empower Judiciary to adjudicate & expeditiously conclude corruption cases, commercial disputes & all other matters, thereby enhancing access to justice & efficiency in the Judiciary.' H. E. Dr William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya pic.twitter.com/vPCoKqsvvp
— The Judiciary Kenya (@Kenyajudiciary) September 14, 2022
Ruto’s electoral campaign was built upon his rags-to-riches story, wherein he told stories of how he was a poor chicken seller who walked to school barefoot and often slept hungry at night. He thus portrayed himself as a “self made outsider,” compared to the country’s well-established political elites. He lambasted his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta and his opponent Raila Odinga, whose fathers were respectively the first president and vice president in independent Kenya, for their dynastic political links.
To this end, he claimed that “every hustle matters” and promised to address rising living costs, high unemployment, and food shortages. He also vowed to increase access to credit and support small businesses.
As part of a “priority intervention,” Ruto affirmed that his government will address high input costs in agriculture by making fertilisers and seeds more accessible and affordable, to provide not just “relief and recovery” from the food crisis but to “invest and unlock [the country’s] huge economic potential” and boost agricultural production. He also refrained from blaming the Kremlin and the Ukraine war for ongoing food shortages.
On his first day in office, President William Ruto cut fertilizer prices in Kenya by almost 50%. Guess who was in attendance when this was announced? Aliko Dangote, chairman of the biggest Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex in Africa. #SecureTheBag pic.twitter.com/G2PaW9UED6
— 'Mayowa Tijani (@OluwamayowaTJ) September 13, 2022
Under a “bottom up economic model” to improve livelihoods, the new president promised a more formalised economy, financial inclusion, the creation of a “Hustler Fund” to support micro, small, and medium enterprises, and job creation to position Kenya as “one of the most compelling and attractive business destinations.”
He also emphasised on the need to attain 100% clean energy by 2030, enhance healthcare infrastructure, and set up an Education Reform Taskforce.
Ruto takes over a battered economy with swelling public debt (which has risen by 343% since 2013), high inflation (7.1%) and unemployment (5.47%), rampant state corruption, stagnant GDP growth (4.4%), and a looming food crisis in the Horn of Africa region that has left four million Kenyans vulnerable and dependent on food aid.
Our immediate focus is lowering the cost of living by empowering food producers, creating jobs for our young people, creating a favourable environment for enterprise and empowering independent institutions. pic.twitter.com/6BtKSUgm5r
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) September 13, 2022
Against this backdrop, he committed to utilising 60% of public revenue to service Kenya’s debt obligations, stressing that “we are living beyond our means.”
Meanwhile, Ruto’s running mate and new Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hailed the new leader for his vision of “freedom,” adding that the administration envisions “less and less government in people’s lives, and more and more services.”
Ruto’s elevation to the post of president followed his narrow victory over Raila Odinga, with just 50.5% of the votes. In fact, Odinga launched a month-long legal contestation, challenging the results in the Supreme Court and demanding a second election.
However, the apex court unanimously declared Ruto victorious. Odinga has since continued to insist that “the outcome of the election remains indeterminate,” and has said that he will soon “announce next steps as we seek to deepen and strengthen our democracy.” In fact, he even chose to sit out of Ruto’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
Why I won’t be available for William Ruto's inauguration. pic.twitter.com/ibD5g7WrPK
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) September 12, 2022
Ruto has also faced scuffles with his predecessor and former boss Kenyatta, who deemed Ruto “not fit for office.” In fact, in an interview with CNN last week, Ruto claimed that “Unfortunately, President Kenyatta has not seen it fit to congratulate me, maybe he’s a bit disillusioned or maybe he’s unhappy that I defeated his candidate.”
Nevertheless, Ruto has attempted to reconcile his differences with Kenyatta and even called on him to chair discussions for regional peace efforts in East Africa and within the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). In his inaugural speech on Tuesday, Ruto reiterated that there will be “no big shifts” in foreign policy and that Nairobi will continue to be a “reliable partner” for stability and security in the region. He revealed that Kenyatta will continue to lead peace talks in Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya will continue to be a dedicated partner to peace, security and prosperity in the East African region. We look forward to deepening our integration. pic.twitter.com/ls7JG1e3dr
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) September 13, 2022
Despite his popularity, however, Ruto has also come under the spotlight for his attempts to stifle media independence, after he limited access to local television stations at his inauguration ceremony at the Kasarani stadium on Tuesday. He has repeatedly accused local press houses of being biased against him.
In this respect, veteran journalist David Makali opined that “the optics don’t look favourable given how this measure was rolled out,” adding that he hopes “this isn’t a deliberate move to suppress the press.”
Meanwhile, at least 60 people were injured as they tried to enter the stadium for the swearing-in ceremony.