Human Rights Defenders: Ruto Has Not Kept His Promises A Year Into Office

By Samuel Ouma

Human Rights organizations have described President William Ruto's one year in office as a big disappointment to Kenyans.

President Ruto marked one year in office on September 13, 2023.

However, Human Rights defenders said that in the last one year, Kenyans have witnessed a succession of broken promises, a prevalent culture of impunity, a continuation of the campaign posture and the discordant governance experienced in the previous administration.

“Despite the initial efforts to rectify past governance errors, these attempts are overshadowed by deliberate constitutional violations, empty rhetoric, abuse of human rights and perpetuation of state demagoguery,” said the Human Rights activists in a statement.

The activists, led by the Kenya Human Rights Commission, claimed corruption has skyrocketed since Ruto assumed office. They questioned the withdrawal of cases for the individuals facing graft charges by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP).

“The regime promptly appointed these individuals to the government, a stark contradiction to the pledge to uphold the rule of law,” they stated.

They accused Ruto’s administration of capturing political parties and independent commissions and offices, saying it interfered with the appointment of the Inspector General of Police (IG) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

Compared to the previous regime, the activists believe the country is more divided along ethnic and regional lines. They attributed the growing division to the use of illiberal language by President Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and other government officers.

Appointments to public posts are plainly tilted toward ethnic hegemonies, further dividing Kenyans.

According to them, Ruto has failed to control the ballooning public debt and instead resorted to more borrowing.

“As of September 2022, Kenya's public debt reached Sh8.7 trillion, equivalent to about 69.4 percent of the GDP. In just the first seven months of the current government's tenure, the public debt ballooned to Sh9.63 trillion, comprising Sh4.54 trillion in domestic debt and Sh5.09 trillion in external debt,” they added.

Concerning the expense of living, they said that the Kenyan leader has failed to reduce the high cost of living, instead imposing extra taxes on millions of Kenyans.

They further alleged that under Ruto's leadership, a police killing squad targeting innocent Kenyans had been reconstituted. For instance, between March and August 2023, more than 75 incidences of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances were documented.

They also criticized Ruto’s government for excluding the youths, threatening, profiling and arresting human rights defenders and suppressing media freedom.

They claimed a rise in forced evictions for communities and a lack of a system for resolving previous land injustices, as mandated by the Constitution and land regulations.

Human rights advocates also objected to restoring the logging moratorium and reintroducing the shamba system, which they claim violates Kenya's commitment to address climate change.

They further claimed that Kenyan education is on the verge of falling due to unnecessary reforms raised by the government.

Last, they also questioned Ruto’s commitment to enhancing devolution, saying that less funds were allocated to the counties as opposed to the Commission of Revenue Allocation's (CRA) recommendations.