President William Ruto has left the country for Rwanda, marking his first international trip after two months.
Ruto’s spokesman Hussein Mohamed announced that the head of state is attending the inauguration of Rwanda’s dictator, Paul Kagame, who was re-elected for a fourth term.
“President William Ruto travels to Kigali, Rwanda, today at the invitation of H.E. Paul Kagame to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Kagame for his fourth term, following the successful July 15 election.
Mohamed observed that the bilateral ties between Kenya and Rwanda have flourished, resulting in mutual economic benefits and bolstering the bond between their citizens.
This would be Ruto’s first tour out of the country after many months of being grounded within the borders.
Ruto’s last trip was in early June in Seoul, South Korea, where he graced the Korea-Africa Summit.
He would later be abnormally grounded within the country as the Kenyan youth took to the streets to protest the draconian tax bill passed in the National Assembly.
The protests kicked off on June 18, with the aggrieved public pressuring parliament to throw away the condemned Finance Bill 2024, in which oppressive tax measures had been proposed.
The climax of the anti-state political activism spearheaded by the youth was on June 25 after protesters breached the National Assembly.
The move forced Ruto to declare the withdrawal of the bill and sanction budget cuts and austerity measures to cover the shortfall occasioned by the withdrawal of the bill.
Ruto seemed to shelve the international tours that he had been known for in the recent past, choosing to address the issues leading to the political crisis in the country.
Besides withdrawing the bill, Ruto undertook several measures to appease the restive youth.
He fired his entire Cabinet on July 11 and reappointed a new team that was sworn in on August 8
Opposition leader, Raila Odinga’s men were brought on board and this seems to have worked in minimizing the Gen Z protests.
