It’s more than a year since President William Ruto was sworn into office as Kenya’s fifth president. He assumed power at a time when Kenya was beset by rising food and fuel prices, high unemployment and a worrying debt burden.
During the election campaign, Ruto promised to fix an economy afflicted by corruption and ineptitude. He promised to entrench good governance and place the poor at the centre of economic policy. He pledged to address ethnicised politics and to uphold constitutionalism and the rule of law.
Ruto’s promises were significant. The rule of law and constitutionalism are key to economic planning and development, governance and equitable sharing of national resources. They are the guardrails against impunity, democratic backsliding, lawlessness and political instability. Throughout Kenya’s postcolonial period, the political elite have exploited ethnicity to obtain power at the expense of the collective wellbeing and social cohesion. Elite entitlement has also weakened state institutions, leading to corruption and impunity.
