Enough is enough! - Ruto tells Gen Z’s amid heated protests

President William Ruto has vowed to remain resolute despite the ongoing Gen Z-led nationwide demonstrations.

Speaking to Bomet County residents on Sunday, the Head of State said his administration will remain firm to protect the country from plunging into anarchy.

He further criticised the youth for declining to honour his invitations to dialogue and address their grievances and other issues affecting the country.

“I dropped the Finance Bill, and called them to come to the table and talk to me, but they refused and asked me to go to X. I went there, but they ran away. I have called them for talks, but they have refused, saying they are faceless and formless,” he lamented.

The president asserted that his administration has made every effort to address the youth's concerns, yet their demands persist.

“I have told them, my friends, It must now come to an end; I have given everybody a chance to say whatever they want, it can't continue like this, the country is more important than any group of people. We must stand together and protect our nation,'' he said.

“Going forward we will protect the nation, we will protect lives, we will protect property, stop the looters, stop the killers, stop mayhem because Kenya is a democracy and we want a stable nation. I want to promise you that it is going to stop. Enough is enough.”

He also warned that his government will take decisive action to safeguard lives and property and halt what he described as mayhem.

Protesters march with a Kenyan flag along Moi Avenue, Nairobi, during the anti-government demos on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Photo: Justine Ondieki/EV)

“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. We must guard the peace and stability of our nation and democracy of our country so that it is not undermined and sabotaged by anonymous faceless formless sponsored people who want to use violence and anarchy and mayhem to control our nation,” Ruto said.

The embattled president challenged the alleged sponsors of the protests to step forward as well and give a clear path on the country’s direction. He reiterated that his administration will not surrender its democracy to faceless, formless anonymous anarchists who want to use violence to destroy the country.

“They must not remain anonymous, formless or faceless, they must step forward and tell us beyond anarchy and violence, what are their alternative plans for Kenya. I challenge the shadowy people, faceless people to step forward to tell us if they have alternative views to take this country forward,” he said.

The unprecedented demonstrations that began on June 18, 2024, compelled Ruto to adopt several austerity measures, including reducing the number of government advisors, expunging the budgets of the offices of the First Lady and Second Lady and abandoning the Finance Bill.

However, the youths continued with the protests and this week, they are expected to continue heaping pressure on the government. On Tuesday, July 23, they plan to demonstrate in protests titled The Final Revolution of Fixing the Nation.

Amid the chaos and confusion, President William Ruto heaped the blame on the American Non-Governmental Organisation Ford Foundation as the key sponsor of the protests.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs further asked the foundation to account for Sh752 million wired to at least 16 organizations between April 2023 and May 2024.

However, the NGO denied the accusations, maintaining that they uphold a non-partisan policy when issuing grants but would continue to support Kenyans’ right to peacefully protest.

“While we acknowledge the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a just and equitable country, we repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community. We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the Finance Bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grant-making,” the foundation said.