Nairobi — After two weeks of anti‑government protests called by the opposition, the situation in Kenya has calmed. Both the government and the opposition have agreed to give dialogue a chance, but President William Ruto has not yet explained how his administration will address the high cost of living, the issue that sparked the demonstrations.
Four days after President Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga reached a temporary truce, many Kenyans expressed relief. The protests had paralyzed streets in Nairobi and other major cities and were beginning to damage the country’s already fragile economy. Odinga warned, however, that the protests could resume if the government fails to provide “meaningful engagement” on key issues, such as reforms to address alleged election irregularities.
The central concern for many Kenyans is the soaring cost of living. Silas Omenda, founder of Divergent—a research and data‑analysis firm for small businesses—said President Ruto must focus on inflation. “The president had to sort out the political angle of the protests, which was to stop the protests from happening, which had already started to cannibalize the economy. The next conversation is that now it becomes a conversation around the economy in terms of what needs to be done to alleviate the current economic crisis,” he said. Omenda noted that food prices have surged, citing maize as an example: a 2‑kg bag cost about 117 Kenyan shillings in 2021 and rose by roughly 8 % to 126 shillings in 2022. The Kenyan Bureau of Statistics reported that the annual inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index, was 9.2 % in February, a slight increase from January.
On the streets of Nairobi, people interviewed by VOA said they want calm while the parties work to boost the economy. Frederick Juma argued that the president deserves support for now: “Let the people of Kenya give him [Ruto] time. Six months, you cannot do something with six months. We want the people of Kenya to give him one year. If one year is not going to do anything, now we can start to judge him.” Mohamed Hassan Galgallo voiced support for Odinga but called for talks between the government and the opposition, urging the leader to keep Kenyans’ interests at heart and seek solutions that benefit all.
Vincent Kimosop, a policy and governance expert in Nairobi, told VOA that while the cost of living is high, several other issues also need attention. “Number one top‑line issue politically is the re‑constitution of the electoral management body,” he said. “It would be very critical to ensure the issues that affect the public continue to be part of the conversation—high costs of living, youth employment, and consolidating national unity and cohesion. These issues were identified way back even during the mediation process that Kofi Annan chaired in 2007.” Former UN Secretary‑General Kofi Annan led a group of mediators after a bitterly disputed presidential election between Odinga and former President Mwai Kibaki, which resulted in Odinga serving a term as prime minister before the post was abolished.
Meanwhile, the opposition’s deadline for “meaningful engagement” expires on Sunday, and Odinga has not said whether the protests will resume the following day.
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