By ERIC BONUKE
President William Ruto now says he’s ready for a conversation with young protesters who thronged the streets of Nairobi and other major cities and towns to protest against the Finance Bill 2024, which contains punitive taxation measures.
Led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests caught the government off-guard, as discontent mounts over Ruto’s economic policies.
“Our young people have stepped forward to engage on the affairs of their country. They’ve done their democratic duty, to stand and be recognised. I’m proud of them,” Ruto said on X, formerly Twitter, through spokesman Hussein Mohamed..
“We’ll have a conversation with you to identify your issues and work together as a nation,” he added, making his first public comments on the protests.
Earlier, on Saturday, the president had briefly joined a discussion on X-Space that brought together nearly 60,000 young Kenyans where his government was lambasted.
The protests caught the government by surprises as they were organised and coordinated online and had no leader making police unable to thwart them.
Instead, they resorted to the old tactics of using tear gas, water cannons and live and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters resulting in two death and over 200 injuries leading to condemnation from human rights groups.
It appears the president has realised such tactics will not work and is now seeking to meet them where they spend most of their time at – on social media.