- President William Ruto indetified the intruders who broke into Parliament on Tuesday as criminals.
- Ruto denied allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had not provided enough intelligence before the protests.
- Ruto admitted that there was a lot of public opposition to the Finance Bill 2024, which was the catalyst for the protests.
In a roundtable discussion on Sunday at State House, President William Ruto addressed several pressing issues related to the ongoing protests in Kenya and the events that followed.
He indicted the intruders that broke into Parliament on Tuesday as criminals, concentrating on certain locations like the inside mausoleum and armory.
He questioned how the demonstrators found out about these sensitive sites and implied that the attack was well-planned.
Twenty-four people died during the protests, and Ruto angrily rejected any involvement for them.
He clarified that although the spectacular arrest of former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter had been reported as an abduction, it was actually a legitimate police activity.
Keter was taken into custody on charges of inciting violence and trafficking guns.
In response to his deputy’s criticism of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Ruto denied allegations that the agency had not provided enough intelligence before the protests.
He disclosed that sufficient intelligence had been gathered about possible criminal infiltrations, which validated the security forces’ preparations.
The president distanced himself from his deputy’s remarks on the extrajudicial executions, saying that his administration opposes them.
He stated that his government would not carry out outlawed killings and asked the interviewees to address any questions they had regarding these claims to his deputy.
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He also addressed the concerns about government excess spending and pledged that there would be big cuts in spending.
He pledged to do away with unconstitutional positions, such as the First Lady’s, and deal with the problem of harambees, which are events where government officials give substantial sums of money.
Lastly,Ruto admitted that there was a lot of public opposition to the Finance Bill 2024, which was the catalyst for the protests.
He said that the administration should have communicated the benefits of the plan more effectively.
He warned, even after the bill was withdrawn, of the challenges that lay ahead and that the government could need to incur significant debt to make up the shortfall.
Rights organizations claimed at least thirty people had died following the protests, however Ruto officially said that only nineteen had died.
He pledged to hold the police accountable for any excessive force they may have used and to conduct a thorough inquiry into every fatality.
In addition, Ruto promised to pursue those accountable for attacking Parliament, saying that several of the attackers had been identified by CCTV and would be brought to justice.
