A week after the Supreme Court upheld an election that dashed the hopes of the Kenya’s most prominent political families, William Ruto was sworn in as the nation’s fifth president on Tuesday.
Ruto, who held the position of deputy president for the previous ten years, assumes the presidency at a time of rising public debt, high unemployment, and rising food and fuel prices.
By 5 a.m., Nairobi’s 60,000-seat Kasarani Sports Centre was packed with Ruto’s supporters resplendent in his party’s colours of yellow and green. They danced and waved miniature national flags to the strains of a band.
“He is our fellow youth! I know he will bring us more opportunity,” said dancer Juma Dominic as he and his troupe warmed up.
The National Police Service had tweeted that the stadium was full by 5 a.m. and asked citizens to stay home, but crowds continued to try to force their way inside.
The St John’s Ambulance Service said it had taken several injured people to the hospital.
Ruto has been deputy to President Uhuru Kenyatta since 2013, but they fell out after the 2017 election. Kenyatta backed opposition leader Raila Odinga to succeed him in the August election and denounced Ruto as unfit for office.
Kenyatta finally publicly congratulated Ruto on the eve of his inauguration.
“You will be president not just for those who voted for you but for all Kenyans,” he said.
Odinga had filed a court challenge accusing Ruto of cheating his way to victory, but the Supreme Court swept aside his petition alongside several others. It was the fifth time that Odinga, 77, had stood for election. read more
Odinga accepted the court’s decision, helping avoid the kind of violent protests that marred the elections he lost in 2007 and 2017. He did not attend the inauguration, however, and said on Monday that the election had not been free and fair.
Ruto, a 55-year-old former roadside chicken seller who is now a wealthy businessman, campaigned by portraying himself as an underdog “hustler” battling the elite.
