Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi now says Tuesday’s earth tremor was a sign for President William Ruto to implement massive reforms in his adminstration.
Following the tremor, Ngunyi said God is giving Ruto a chance to reset his government.
“The foundations of our nation have been shaken. In posh Kikuyu areas. I felt the tremor in Gigiri. The 4.2 earthquake is a sign,” he said.
“God is giving Ruto a chance to reset. From the foundation up! This is symbolic.”
Pressure is mounting on President William Ruto to enact significant reforms within his administration amid recent protests by thousands of youths demanding accountability and integrity from their leaders.
These developments follow President Ruto’s recent decision to dissolve his Cabinet, retaining only Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi. The office of the Deputy President remains unaffected.
Ruto has announced plans for extensive consultations across various sectors, political formations, and with the broader Kenyan populace. He aims to establish a comprehensive government structure to accelerate the implementation of critical programs.
These initiatives include addressing the national debt burden, enhancing domestic resource mobilization, creating employment opportunities, eliminating government inefficiencies and duplication, and combating corruption.
The President emphasized that these efforts will streamline the government, making it more cost-effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the people.
“During this process, the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of Principal Secretaries and other relevant officials,” he added.
The President also introduced austerity measures which claimed the existence of 47 state corporations.
Speaking during the State of the Nation address, President Ruto said the parastatals with overlapping mandates will cease to exist immediately.
“The 47 state corporations with overlapping will be dissolved and their mandate transferred to ministries and state agencies,” Ruto said.
The earth tremor reported by Ngunyi occurred at approximately 8:34 pm on Tuesday and lasted for around 30 seconds. According to Earthquake Monitor, the country experienced a significant earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6. The epicenter was located 87 km (54 mi) away from Nairobi, and the quake had a very shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi). It was widely felt in the region.
“The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicentre than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would,” the statement read.
“We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya on 16 Jul 2024 (GMT) at approximately 17:31 GMT,” Earthquake Monitor said in a statement.
