Musician-turned-activist Kasmuel McOure, known by his stage name Kaskazini, has intensified his criticism of the ruling Kenya Kwanza regime, describing President William Ruto’s recent decision to dismiss the Cabinet as a move aimed at self-preservation by the head of state.
McOure gained prominence as a vocal activist during the recent anti-government protests, urging Kenyan demonstrators to strongly oppose the now-revoked Finance Bill and the Kenya Kwanza government.
In a statement on Citizen TV’s Daybreak Show, McOure criticized President Ruto for retaining Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi while arguing that the position of head minister is unconstitutional.
“He might have fired his entire Cabinet but he still maintains the unconstitutional position of the office of the Prime CS and this is a blatant attempt at self-preservation. I do not think of this as a move of goodwill because I wouldn’t sit here and applaud a fish for swimming,” he said.
“If the President wanted to do the right thing; the President would have done the right thing and this is the beginning of a manifestation of a new political environment to which we can’t wait to see how it will play out.”
Additionally, McOure slammed President Ruto for allegedly infantilizing the ongoing political revolution in Kenya, spearheaded by youthful Kenyans, further accusing the head of state of constantly consulting the clergy and members of the political class on matters of youth.
“There is a sinister nature to the political class where he (Ruto) has said he will consult widely, both in public and in private, and the president has shown an affinity to love to consult the clergy and the political class in public but consult the youth in private,” he said.
“That is why the youth end up in cells and end up showing up in swamps dead. I say this without fear of contradiction because I have not seen at any particular point the President make a deliberate effort to listen to the youth and I say this because in the protests that we have led, the people the president has invited to the table has consistently been the clergy and political class.”
To push his point home, McOure referenced the recent X Space session in which President Ruto engaged Kenyans, calling out the head of state for seemingly turning up to the discussion unprepared despite earlier insisting that he was ready for dialogue.
“The X Space was a very disrespectful and knee-jerk move because if you say that you are going to appear at a place at 2pm as a President who has all the money, technolgy and intelligence at your disposal and try to posture….I think it was a very deliberate psychological move where the President was posturing as an old amiable figure that “I do not know how to use this technology” and you see how shaky the camera was, the angling,” said McOure.
“I do not think the President was doing this from a point of honesty. He came to the X space and he was supposed to join as a listener. He does not summon us because what we do on the X spaces, they are our barazas.”
Furthermore, McOoure urged President Ruto to appoint a transparent and functional cabinet, free from any political scandals, when naming the new Cabinet.
“We still do not know the names that are going to come out but part of the suggestions we are making as Kenyans is that we do not want to see faces of people who have tarnished names. I am very weary of trusting the President with regards to this move,” he said.
