You mustn't remain anonymous - Ruto tells alleged sponsors of protests

 

President William Ruto

President William Ruto on Sunday challenged the people behind recent unrests in the country to "step forward" and provide their alternative views instead of sponsoring anarchy.

The President said Kenya is a democracy and that the government will not surrender the same to anarchists hiding behind protests to hurt Kenyans.

Ruto who spoke while attending a church service in Bomet County, said the time has come when the so-called sponsors of the anti-government protests must advance their case democratically.

"I want to challenge those who are sponsoring, orchestrating and funding this violence to step forward and give their alternative views on how to take Kenya forward," he said.

"They must not remain anonymous, they must not remain formless or faceless, they must step forward."

Ruto insisted that the protesters are not leaderless as claimed, insisting that people are hiding behind them to destabilise the country.

"They must tell us, beyond anarchy and destruction of property, violence and mayhem, what are their alternative plans for Kenya," Ruto said.

"I challenge the shadowy people, the faceless people to step forward and tell us if they have any alternative ideas for taking Kenya forward," the President said.

According to the President, the government will not surrender the country to people pushing for the destruction of Kenya.

"We are a democratic country, we are very proud of our democracy and we cannot surrender our democracy to faceless, formless and anonymous anarchists who want to use violence and destruction of property to destroy our country," Ruto said.

The country has in the last five weeks witnessed a wave of protests by mainly the young people known as Gen Zs and Millenials as they push for reforms in government.

However, there are concerns that what started as protests to call for radical reforms have morphed into elements of criminality with goons said to have infiltrated to orchestrate the destruction of property.

Police have also been accused of using excessive force against unarmed protesters resulting in deaths and injuries.

Independent Policy Oversight Authority has said it launched investigations into alleged police brutality to bring the culprits to book.

by JAMES MBAKA