President William Ruto has issued a stern warning to leaders of recent protests, urging them to step forward and offer alternative views on how to lead the country forward instead of resorting to street protests.
Speaking at a church service in Bomet County, the President warned that his government will remain firm in protecting the country from plunging into anarchy. He accused the protesters of being sponsored and challenged their backers to come forward and give a clear path for the country’s direction.
“We must never as a country agree to replace our democracy with a dictatorship and tyranny of faceless anonymous people who want to use violence, destruction of property and loss of lives in place of our democracy,” President Ruto said.
The President also accused the Ford Foundation of being among those sponsoring the protests, insinuating that they were behind the wave of anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the country.
“We want to know who is behind these protests. We want to know who is funding them. We want to know who is orchestrating this chaos,” President Ruto said.
The President’s remarks come as the country prepares for another day of protests on Tuesday, July 23.
The protests, which have been ongoing for over a month, began on June 18 and have seen young people demand for the Finance Bill 2024 to be dropped, transparency and accountability from the government, and austerity measures to be enforced.
However, President Ruto remained firm in his stance, warning that his government will not be swayed by the protests and will instead protect the country from descending into chaos.
“As a government we are going to be firm, determined to protect this country from the tyranny of violence mayhem and anarchy. We are going to protect life and property,” he said.
