NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 30 – President William Ruto has jetted back into the country after a four-day official visit to Germany and Belgium.
President Ruto arrived Thursday morning and was received by deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome among other senior government officials.
Reports from close sources indicate that first in his agenda, President Ruto is expected to quell disquiet within his Kenya Kwanza Government following the invasion of his predecessors Northlands City farm on Monday where police inaction was evident.
Police were only deployed to the Northlands Farm that belongs to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family almost 24-hours after it was invaded by unknown people.
The parcel of land is located along the Eastern Bypass, Ruiru.
The slow response by the security agencies raised eyebrows after dozens of unknown people armed with power saws and machetes raided the farm and cut down a number of trees before escaping with an unknown number of sheep.
The over 11,000-acre farm was set to host a real estate haven that included low and high-income residential areas, an agricultural zone, an industrial area and schools.
The Head of State’s arrival also comes just few hours before Thursday’s planned Azimio One Kenya Coalition demonstrations led by opposition leader Raila Odinga
Ruto on Wednesday maintained that the weekly demonstrations called by Odinga have nothing to do with the cost of living but the 2022 presidential election outcome.
Speaking during an interview on Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), President Ruto accused Odinga of using demonstrations so that he can unconstitutionally get a share of the government.
“The riots in Nairobi are not so much about the cost of living. It is so much about some election results which is actually a settled matter but because cost of living is a pregnant issue; it is an emotive issue, our competitors are trying to take advantage but I think the people of Kenya are a lot wiser,” President Ruto said.
The veteran politician has called for regular protests every Monday and Thursday, accusing President Ruto of stealing last year’s election and of failing to control the surging cost of living.
“The opposition is asking for some discussions about an election that was held some six months ago. An election that was given a clean bill of health by the EU, AU and all observers. An election that was witnessed by international and local observers. That conversation is a conversation outside the Constitution,” Ruto said.
The Head of State, however, said his government is committed to addressing the challenges of the high cost of living.
“We have had to rethink about our agriculture how do we do things differently so that we avoid dependency on the global supply chain of these commodities because we have had challenges accessing fertilizer and grain,” said Ruto.
President William Ruto is away on an official visit to Germany and Belgium.
On Monday, the protesters defied a warning by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome that the demonstrations in Nairobi and in Odinga’s stronghold of Kisumu were “illegal”.
At least four people have been killed and property worth millions destroyed since last week when the protests started last.
