On September 13, the day he was sworn in, President William Ruto had two urgent issues on his desk: appointment of the six judges that his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, had rejected, and giving the National Police Service (NPS)a level of financial autonomy. He did this immediately.
President Ruto ended the three-year Judiciary-Executive wrangle that had been the hallmark of the Uhuru presidency by appeasing the Judiciary. He also promised to increase the Judiciary’s funding by at least Sh3 billion annually in the next five years.
By giving the Inspector-General (IG) of Police a chance to control his budget, President Ruto had whittled down the might of the Ministry of Interior, which used to manage the billions of shillings allocated to the internal security apparatus. However, Dr Ruto seemed to adhere to Article 245 of the Constitution, which mandates the IG to exercise independent command over the police service.
It was a clear departure from his predecessor and pundits argue that continued financial dependence on the ministry had undermined police autonomy. More so, in Dr Ruto's Executive Order on the organisation of the government, the NPS is listed as an independent unit – meaning its reporting structures have changed.
President Kenyatta crafted an administrative state, where some powers flowed from the chiefs through the now-defunct structure known as the National Development Implementation and Communication Committee. It was last headed by Dr Fred Matiang’i, then the Interior Cabinet Secretary, and was the coordinating arm of development and security.
The first salvo on security was signaled by the resignation of both the Inspector-General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai, and the Director of Criminal Investigations, George Kinoti. President Ruto followed this by disbanding the Special Services Unit (SSU) at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which he accused of engaging in extra-judicial killings. Also disbanded was the Anti-Counterfeit Unit.
While the President said extra-judicial killings would end, recent statements by the Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki, and IG Japhet Koome indicate a revision of that policy. Both Prof Kindiki and Mr Koome have criticised the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) and termed them as "busybodies" over their attempts to criticise police – whenever they protect themselves. They have also received support from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who said police must defend themselves from criminals.
Another administrative move in the pipeline is the replacement of Administration Police by the National Youth Service (NYS) from manning government buildings, which will be a first. In 2016, the government expanded the AP Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit to offer protection of critical national installations, support national government functions, and security of government buildings. It saw an increase of the officers from 4,700 to about 8,300, and they were put under a deputy IG.
President Kenyatta had used the military to strengthen his administration and had seconded various military personnel to key ministries. During his eighth State of the Nation address, President Kenyatta had justified his appointment of the military to run some state apparatus, arguing that he preferred them for their unity of command, efficiency, and reasonable pricing.
However, Dr Ruto does not seem eager to follow this path and finds comfort in using political appointees in strategic places. For instance, the choice of Mary Wambui, a tenderpreneur, to be the chairperson of the Communications Commission of Kenya, and Anthony Mwaura into the Kenya Revenue Authority, was an indicator that loyalty to the President was cardinal in the leadership of key institutions.
As the President embarks on overhauling parastatals and ambassadorial positions – which is the next after the appointment of Cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries — loyalty will play a key role.
Dr Ruto took leadership of a country marooned by debts and where social services have been collapsing. Currently, the annual inflation stands at 9.5 per cent, according to the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, while public debt is now consuming more than 60 per cent of tax revenues – leaving little for development and social stability.
How Dr Ruto’s government — which has promised several social welfare programmes — navigates the debt crisis during his first term will be the hallmark of his presidency. For the last 100 days, he had ordered the cutting of the budget by Sh300 billion and removed the subsidy on fuel.
This is after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for debt transparency, domestic resource mobilisation, and discipline in public expenditure as the answer to the problems that Kenya faces, thanks to its debt.
With corruption eating at the very base of the nation, the decision by Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, to stop corruption cases touching on the politically correct raised eyebrows on whether the Ruto state was eager to tackle the national menace. The argument the Ruto administration gave was that the previous regime politically instigated the cases and targeted those close to him.
Dr Ruto’s management of politics is multi-pronged. Like President Daniel Moi, he favours political barazas, religious gatherings, and closed-door leaders’ meetings to solidify his state. More so, the harambee rallies appear to have made a comeback — the hallmark of a political state that President Kenyatta had deconstructed. The political state operates with powerful regional kingpins, and local leaders rally around a “kingpin”. For instance, in the Mt Kenya region, the talk is on Mr Gachagua as the kingpin, while Western has gone for Musalia Mudavadi. Whether Dr Ruto will allow these to emerge as independent centres of power remains to be seen.
But his early attempt to amend the Constitution – despite his campaign criticism of President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga for attempting the same — caught even his supporters by surprise. Dr Ruto's move has been opposed by the Law Society of Kenya, which argues that he had followed the same path the Supreme Court voided.
Like President Mwai Kibaki, Dr Ruto has appointed a council of economic advisors. He formulated the Council of Economic Advisors led by Dr David Ndii, bringing on board economists Kamau Thugge, Dr Augustine Cheruiyot, Dr Nancy Laibuni, Mr Mohammed Hassan, and banker Adan Mohammed.
While President Kenyatta also populated some institutions with career intelligence officers, Dr Ruto has so far not done so. Also, it is unclear whether he will continue with Kenyatta's “one government approach policy”.
For the last 100 days, the opposition has accused President Ruto of attempting to entrench dictatorship with the one-man rule. But, unlike President Kibaki, who took power while in a wheel-chair, or President Kenyatta, who looked reluctant to lead – President Ruto is not a pushover in politics, having gone through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
