William Ruto to Implement Radical Changes Amid Unrest, Gachagua Discontent

On Tuesday, July 2, the local dailies widely reported on Generation Z's sustained anti-government protests and their effects on President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration.

Kenyan newspapers headlines on Tuesday, July 2. Photo: Daily Nation, The Standard, People Daily, Taifa Leo and The Star. Source: UGC

The papers also delved into Ruto's tough choices to steady the Kenya Kwanza ship, as it became apparent he was not on good terms with his second in command, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

1. The Star

President William Ruto is under pressure to overhaul his government following the discord with his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, and the masses' boiling disaffection with his policies.

However, Ruto faces dilemmas because most people with plum Cabinet posts and influential positions across the government include his key allies who have walked with him all along.

There are reports that the President could fire as many as a dozen Cabinet and Principal Secretaries—not because of incompetence but because he needs to incorporate seasoned politicians to stabilize the government.

"The centre can no longer hold, it is going to be a grand house cleaning," a senior UDA politician close to the president confided to the paper, saying changes are imminent.

Ruto’s government faced a major test as tens of thousands of youths, led by Generation Z, took to the streets around the country to protest against the Finance Bill 2024, forcing him to eat humble pie.

A CS who sought anonymity told the paper that major changes are inevitable in the coming weeks, citing Gachagua’s mutiny.

"It is only a matter of time, and I assure you 100% about massive change.It may not be about the Cabinet alone, it would be an earth-shaking purge across the government that will affect Principal Secretaries," he said.

2. Daily Nation

A section of professional bodies and civil society have dismissed President William Ruto’s call for dialogue, saying he knows what to do to assuage the ballooning public anger.

This is in response to the head of state's formation of a National Multi-Sectoral Forum (NMSF) to try to tame the youth's ongoing unrest.

They include the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Kenya Medical Association (KMA), the Kenya Union of Journalists, and several civil society groups.

“The youth for Kenya (Gen Z) have clearly spoken on the urgent need for the state to arrest public theft and a bloated cabinet, invest in essential services, act on those who fired upon unarmed protestors and an end to extra-judicial killings among other demands,” the groups said.

They added that many of the issues raised by the youths did not require a policy dialogue but decisive execution action.

The groups said that if the government uses decisive execution rather than a state-led national conversation, the faith of the generation will be restored.

3. The Standard

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) officers in Naivasha have arrested two suspects, including a junior police officer, for trafficking elephant ivory worth close to Sh3m.

The two suspects were arrested along the Mai Mahiu-Narok road while ferrying the 29 pieces from Narok to Nairobi.

This came as the government agency raised its concern over an increase in cases of ivory trafficking in the country, noting that it was affecting wildlife conservation.

Last month, three suspects, including a police officer, were arrested in Kajiado while ferrying over 20 pieces of ivory to Nairobi.

In the latest incident, the two suspects were waiting for a matatu along the road when KWS officers moved in and arrested them.

According to Francis Mutuko, KWS Senior Warden in charge of Naivasha, the 29 pieces had been parked in two bags when the suspects were nabbed.

He expressed his concern that among those arrested was a police officer who was supposed to be the custodian of the law.

“We have arrested two suspects, including a junior police officer and recovered elephant tusks worth around KSh2.9m following a sting operation along the Mai Mahiu-Narok road,” he said.

4. Taifa Leo

The Swahili paper reported a family is filled with sorrow after discovering that their daughter's body has been in a mortuary in Saudi Arabia for two years following her mysterious death.

In August 2022, Praxidis Okiya received a call from one of her daughters, who was in Saudi Arabia.

That daughter, Eunice Achieng’, was working as a housemaid and called to ask for help, claiming she was being mistreated by her employer, who had threatened to kill her.

Worried, the mother went to the woman who had helped her daughter meet the agents who had assisted her in getting the job in Saudi Arabia and asked her to help rescue her.

She said the woman made several calls to the agents' offices in Nairobi, and after consultations, the family was informed that Achieng’ had sought help at a construction site before being taken in by four Kenyan women who promised to shelter her and later found her a job.

However, that was the last time Okiya spoke to her daughter before receiving news on June 12 that her daughter's body had been in a morgue in Saudi Arabia for the past two years.

Although the family didn't know her whereabouts for those two years, they lived in the hope that she would eventually come forward and return home after her contract ended.

5. People Daily

President William Ruto has vowed to put in place a fully constituted electoral commission within 10 days.

Addressing one of the fourteen demands raised by the Gen Z protestors last week during a televised interview with a local website, the president announced that he would appoint new electoral commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The protestors had demanded that the president reconstitute the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) within 30 days to facilitate their move to recall all rogue Members of Parliament and hold fresh elections.

This has been a key issue in the ongoing nationwide protests marked by significant youth involvement.

The president revealed that he had received a parliamentary report authorizing him to appoint new commissioners.