President William Ruto has hit back at Gen Z protesters and leaders in the opposition who want to remove him from office, days after the country witnessed chaos during the June 25 anniversary protests.
Speaking on Friday, June 27, at the Kenya International Conference Centre (KICC) during the World MSME Day, Ruto emphasized that while demonstrations are a democratic right, the only legitimate way to change government leadership is through the ballot.
“For those who want power, the Constitution is clear. Election will come, formulate a better plan, convince the people of Kenya, win fairly, that is how change happens in a democracy,” Ruto said.
“Replacing a working plan that you may not like, with no plan or with hate and violence will only make things worse, not better.”
Ruto went on to say that those chanting “Ruto Must Go” must explain where he should go, and how he should go, because there is a constitution in place.
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Ruto Advises Gen Z & Politicians Who Want to Remove Him from Power
He went on to advise the opposition to focus on finding solutions to the challenges facing the country, emphasizing that solutions are not found in slogans or ‘terms’, but in strategy and planning.
“If you want Ruto to go, do the honorable thing. Develop a better plan than the one I have. Do not tell us that you hate so and so, this one must go, that one must have this term and you have no strategy,” he said.
“If it is a question of terms, the Constitution has already sorted out the issue of terms. You can either be “One Term” or “Two Term” maximum. You cannot have more than that.”
The Head of State said the Wednesday protests were not peaceful and termed them a “calculated chaos, violence, economic sabotage and destruction”.
“Kenya is a country government by the rule of law and the government will not allow such acts to destroy lives and livelihoods,” Ruto stated.
“The political actors who think they can exploit the genuine aspirations of young people to cause chaos, violence and destruction, the wheels of justice will find you, deal with you, firmly, decisively within the full latter of the war.”
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Ruto Condemns Looting and Chaos During Protests
The Head of State went on to express regret over the loss of lives and destruction of traders’ property during the anniversary protests.
“I want to express my deepest regret for the loss of lives, looting, destruction, and loss of valuable property belonging to our traders who were deliberately targeted by criminal elements during the protests this week,” Ruto expressed.
“Besides the regrettable loss of lives, the biggest victims of this chaos were our hardworking traders and entrepreneurs who wake up early every day to find some of their businesses and hassles reduced to ashes and others with broken doors and empty walls or empty stalls.”
The fifth President ordered the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and all relevant security agencies to conduct immediate, thorough, and swift investigations.
He maintained that the perpetrators of the violence, looting, and destruction must be identified and prosecuted to the full extent of the law—swiftly and decisively.
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