President William Ruto will not attend the Global Peace Leadership Conference scheduled this week in Nairobi, its organizers said on Wednesday. The summit, slated from Tuesday, June 25, through Thursday, June 27, was intended to bring delegates worldwide together to “explore and discuss ways to promote peace, development, and cooperation,” according to its promotional materials.
President Ruto was set to give a keynote address on Wednesday. However, organizers announced in the morning that the opening ceremony had been canceled due to “the events over the last two days in Kenya, the loss of lives, and the casualties of the protests at the Parliament on June 25.”
Consequently, they confirmed that Ruto would no longer be attending the conference.
They said Ruto was no longer attending the conference.
“We mourn those who have died, pray for a full recovery for those who were injured, and hope for healing for this nation so that it can find a way forward towards a future that benefits all its people,” read a statement shared online.
The Global Peace Leadership Conference is organized by the Global Peace Foundation, the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, the Chandaria Foundation, and the Kenyan government.
As stated on its website, its objectives include promoting an “African Renaissance that draws on Africa’s unique heritage and the strength of its spirituality and traditional values,” empowering African leadership, strengthening intracontinental partnerships, and cultivating “ethical global citizenship.”
The conference is co-chaired by former Zanzibar President Amani Karume, the Global Peace Foundation’s International President James Flynn, Kenyan industrialist Manu Chandaria, and Willybard Lagho, chair of the Interreligious Council of Kenya.
Tuesday saw day-long nationwide demonstrations led by the youth to protest President Ruto’s government’s unpopular Finance Bill 2024, which seeks to introduce more taxes. The demonstrations culminated in violent scenes as crowds broke through police lines and breached Parliament buildings in Nairobi after legislators passed the bill, which now awaits presidential assent to become law.
The ceremonial mace, symbolizing the authority of the legislature, was stolen, parts of the parliament building were vandalized, and a section was set on fire.
Police fired live ammunition at the mob, killing at least five people and injuring over 30 others, according to Amnesty International. The human rights organization HAKI Africa reported that over 125 people were injured in the day’s events.
In a late evening address, President William Ruto denounced the day’s events as treasonous, accusing “organized criminals” of hijacking a “critical conversation” on the Finance Bill to cause havoc.
He vowed to crack down on the “planners, financiers, orchestrators, and abettors of violence and anarchy” and deployed the military to support the police force’s security enforcement.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged Kenyan authorities to restrain from violence and pave the way for peaceful demonstrations. Moussa Faki, the African Union Commission chairperson, urged stakeholders to exercise calm and welcome constructive dialogue.
