President William Ruto has dismissed the anti-government demonstrations being spearheaded by Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition party leader Raila Odinga.

Speaking during an interview on Deustche Welle (DW) TV in Germany, President Ruto asserted that the protests by the Raila brigade were not about the high cost of living.

According to Ruto, who is on a four-day state visit to Germany, the demos are all about challenging the outcome of the August 2022 presidential election, which were settled by the Supreme Court.

“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 settle matter,” Ruto said.

The Head of State, however, admitted that the ever-rising cost of living in Kenya was a matter of concern but accused opposition Azimio leaders of taking advantage of it.

Read More

  1. Ruto reshuffles Cabinet, foreign missions, state agencies in sweeping realignment
  2. Kenya battles rising cyber threats with new security measures
  3. Kenya’s debt soars to Sh10.8 trillion as pressure on finances mounts

“Cost of living is a pregnant issue, an emotive issue. Our competitors are trying to take advantage of it, but I think the people of Kenya are a lot wiser,” he added.

Ruto denied claims that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had a hand in various tax increases, which a section of Kenyans have termed punitive and pushed living costs higher.

“There are no increases of any taxes that we have proposed that are punitive. The IMF has no role in how we run the affairs of our country. We are in charge of the economy. We have stabilized the economy,” he asserted.

He indicated that his Kenya Kwanza government had already take a raft of measures to deal with the cost of living since assuming office, saying he had stabilized the ailing economy.

“Yes, we have a crisis of high commodity prices; we have registered five million farmers; we are providing fertilisers and seeds for them to grow.

“We are importing food from across the globe, where some of the imports arrived last week to begin to tamper the price of commodities. We are also investing long-term on irrigation.”

Raila has accused Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua of high-handedness in dealing with demos and orchestrating attacks on properties owned by the Kenyatta and Odinga families.