Step forward, don’t remain anonymous, formless or faceless - Ruto tells protest leaders

Speaking at a church service in Bomet County, he warned the protestors that his government would remain firm to protect the country from plunging into anarchy. 

Insisting that the protests are sponsored, President Ruto challenged the sponsors to step forward as well and give a clear path on the country’s direction. 

The Head of State also termed the wave of anti-government protests as “anonymous, faceless, formless, sponsored” people who sought to use violence to control the nation. 

“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,” the president said.

“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.”

He assured the public that his administration would protect their lives and properties against those propagating violence. 

“As a government we are going to be firm, determined to protect this country from the tyranny of violence mayhem and anarchy. We are going to protect life and property. I want to challenge those orchestrating and funding this violence to step forward and give us their alternative views on how to take Kenya forward,” he added.

“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. We cannot surrender our democracy to faceless, formless anonymous anarchists who want to use violence to destroy our country.”

The president’s remarks comes in the wake of the wave of anti-government protests that have turned the country upside down. The unprecedented demonstrations have forced the government to adopt several austerity measures to align with the youth’s demands. 

The protests, which have lasted a month, are set to continue on Tuesday, July 23, which has been titled The Final Revolution Fixing the Nation.

What began on June 18, 2024, saw the young Generation call for the Finance Bill 2024 to be dropped as well as transparency and accountability from the government. They also demanded austerity measures to be enforced by the government to reflect the current state of economy. 

The president however, appears to be reading from a different script and insinuated that the Ford Foundation were among those sponsoring the protests. 

"Nataka niulize watu wa Ford Foundation watuambie hio pesa wanatoa, wanatoa ifanye fujo ndio wapate faida gani?" he said in Nakuru on Monday, July 15.

This was followed by a letter drafted by Foreign Affairs PS Korir SingOei demanding from Ford Foundation a list of all beneficiaries of grants between April 2023 and May 2024. 

In a rejoinder, Ford Foundation denied the accusations and maintained that they uphold a non-partisan policy when issuing grants. They, however, supported Kenyans’ right to peacefully protest. 

“We repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community,” the foundation said.