DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 18 | KENYA Ruto loyalists plot new laws to stifle protests 27th August 2024 A new bill could give police sweeping powers to ban or break up demonstrations and impose harsh fines and jail terms Legislators are pressing ahead with new laws aimed at giving the police powers to break up demonstrations just weeks after the Generation Z protest movement swept across Kenya. READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 18 | KENYA A selective war on graft 5th September 2024 On 28 August, former Samburu governor Moses Lenolkulal was convicted of corruption and told to repay 84.5 million shillings (US$600,000) or face eight years in prison. Lenolkulal served...
Vol 65 No 17 | KENYA Kenyatta’s favourite minister plans presidential bid 14th August 2024 Challenging President Ruto after the protests, Fred Matiang’i has hired US lobbyists to help fend off legal cases Former Interior minister Fred Matiang'i says he is preparing to run for Kenya’s presidency in 2027 after falling out with President William Ruto and having his Nairobi home...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 17 | KENYA Ratings downgrade adds to pressure on new Treasury minister Mbadi 7th August 2024 Risks to public finances multiply after the government’s u-turn on revenue measures in the Finance Bill The decision by ratings agency Fitch to downgrade Kenya’s foreign currency sovereign rating, is the latest reminder that President William Ruto’s government will face international pressure to balance... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 16 | KENYA Raila names his price 1st August 2024 In a move to quell growing dissatisfaction with his government, President Ruto has nominated allies of the main opposition leader to his cabinet Four ministries, including the Treasury, was the price Raila Odinga set for propping up William Ruto’s ailing presidency and to establish what is effectively Kenya’s first unity government...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 16 | KENYA Ruto battens down the hatches ahead of protests 23rd July 2024 After announcing the return of six senior ministers and threatening broadcasters, the President has taken a harder line President William Ruto’s decision last week to bring back six of the senior ministers he had fired, particularly Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who many hold as culpable... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 15 | KENYA Ruto struggles to regain control 18th July 2024 Weeks of protests sparked by punitive tax hikes have morphed into a wider revolt, pushing the President on the defensive The sense of chaos coming from State House in Nairobi is palpable. Having fired his government and accepted the resignation of Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, President...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 15 | KENYA Ruto pledges cuts on state budgets and anti-graft action as he struggle to assert control 9th July 2024 The government will borrow more to keep the running after it scrapped the hated Finance Bill The government will cut its budget by 177 billion shillings (US$1.4bn) over the next 12 months and borrow the rest of the KSh346bn ($2.7bn) in tax revenue that... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 14 | KENYA How the fiscal squeeze threatens the patronage machine 4th July 2024 After dropping the planned tax hikes, President Ruto insists he is listening to the protestors’ calls for change As they regroup from the political defeat of 26 June, President William Ruto and his finance minister Njuguna Ndung’u are torn between the demands of a highly organised... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 14 | KENYA After the protestors won the tax war 4th July 2024 Wrongfooted by national demonstrations, state security officers are suspected of sabotage and running agents provocateurs After their protests forced President William Ruto to abandon the government’s Finance Bill and its planned US$2.4 billion tax rises, the Generation Z activists face their own political...