President William Ruto and Deputy Rigathi Gachagua highlighted their growing rift on Wednesday by delivering separate addresses to the nation from locations nearly 500km apart.
Ruto gathered Kenya Kwanza legislators at State House Nairobi to announce his decision not to sign the controversial Finance Bill, while Gachagua held a solo address at the Deputy President’s official residence in Mombasa. The absence of Gachagua and defiant Kenya Kwanza MPs from State House indicated further strains within the coalition.
Their speeches diverged as well: Ruto softened his stance on the bill, which he had previously vowed to sign, while Gachagua placed blame on National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji for Tuesday’s violent protests. Despite both being in the country, there was no joint address with legislators allied to the ruling coalition, a missed opportunity at a critical time amid ongoing unrest.
Gachagua was conspicuously absent from Ruto’s addresses to the nation on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
In Mombasa, the DP pronounced himself for the first time over the situation that paints the country in bad light.
Trained guns
While President Ruto focused extensively on the reasons behind his decision to yield to the demands of protesting Gen Z activists who vehemently opposed the bill, Gachagua directed his criticisms towards Haji.
He accused the National Intelligence Service Director General of failing to alert the President about the mounting opposition to the bill. Gachagua called for Haji’s resignation, holding him personally accountable for the deaths and property damage incurred during Tuesday’s unrest.
Furthermore, Gachagua condemned Haji for allegedly orchestrating efforts to discredit certain leaders by linking them to the protests, including himself. Meanwhile, Ruto, accompanied by Kenya Kwanza MPs who supported the bill and Governors Anne Waiguru and Cecil Mbarire, announced, “After careful consideration of the ongoing discussions on the Finance Bill 2024 and after listening to the voices of Kenyans, I have decided to concede.
”The bill has been withdrawn.”
Shot dead
He added: “I also propose that within the next 14 days, multi-sectoral, multi stakeholder engagement be held with a view to charting the way forward on matters relating to the content of the bill as well as auxiliary issues raised in the recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption.”
Following a violent Tuesday where demonstrators were fatally shot outside Parliament and in various areas across the country, a visibly enraged Ruto appeared in a televised address, expressing disdain towards the protestors and commending the police for bringing the situation under control.
Describing the day’s events as treasonous, President Ruto warned those responsible for planning, funding, and orchestrating the unrest. He emphasized that security measures aimed at safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty would be utilized to restore order and normalcy.
“It is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free.
We must isolate crime from democratic expression and separate criminals from people exercising the freedom of expression and divergent opinion,” he said.
