Kenyan President Ruto sacks cabinet after mass protests

Kenyan President William Ruto has sacked all his ministers and the attorney general with “immediate effect” following the deadly protests that led to the withdrawal of an unpopular tax bill last month.

Mr Ruto, who was elected in 2022, said the move came after “reflection, listening to Kenyans, and after holistic appraisal of my cabinet.”

The president of the East-African nation said he will now consult widely in order to set up a broad-based government, the BBC reports.

The dissolution of his ministers does not affect the vice president and the prime cabinet secretary who is also the foreign affairs minister.

Mr Ruto said that government operations would continue uninterrupted under the supervision of senior civil servants.

“I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations and other Kenyans, both in public and private, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government,” he said in a televised address to the nation, adding that he would announce additional measures later.

Reuters, quoting anti-corruption activist John Githongo, reported that Kenyans had been asking for the sweeping cabinet changes on Thursday.

“Let us see what happens now if the new ministers deal with big issues around corruption and just the arrogance and excess of his administration and the fact that a lot of Kenyans died during the demonstrations,” he said. “Hopefully this should temporarily calm things.“

Last Thursday, President Ruto chaired a cabinet meeting which a local newspaper described as the “last supper” for the ministers.

According to the BBC, some of the ministers were linked to corruption scandals that led to the suspension of senior government officials within several ministries. But Mr Ruto had defended them, saying that there was no evidence to sack them.

The last time an entire cabinet was dissolved was in 2005 when then-President Mwai Kibaki did so shortly after losing a referendum over a new constitution, the BBC reports.

Mr Ruto has been caught between the demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut deficits and a hard-pressed population reeling from the rising cost of living.

He proposed spending cuts and additional borrowing in roughly equal measure last week to fill the near $2.7 billion budget deficit caused by the withdrawal of the tax rises.

Analysts have said the tax rollback means Kenya is likely to miss IMF targets, although the government does not have debts that are due. According to Reuters, the budget deficit is projected to be 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that started on 1 July.

READ ALSO: The other side of the Kenyan tax riots, By Reuben Abati

Mr Ruto has been under pressure from Kenyans who have continued holding anti-government protests and demanding more accountability from the government, even though he agreed to withdraw his controversial tax rises.

Some of the protesters have been calling for the president to go. The youth-led protests against planned tax rises began peacefully but turned violent. A least 39 people were killed in clashes with police last month. Some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament before Mr Ruto suspended the new taxes.