BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. – A couple dozen Kenyan Americans and their children gathered at Centennial Park on Sunday and issued a statement calling for the resignation of Kenya’s president as they chanted “Ruto must go.”
The call for President Ruto’s resignation comes days after he activated the country’s military to protect his regime, following the storming of parliament on Tuesday by youth protesters over a tax plan that would increase the cost of living. The storming was an attempt by the youth, commonly referred to as Gen Zs, to stop lawmakers from approving the budget bill.
The Kenya National Human Rights Commission, a government agency, on Friday said 23 unarmed people had been shot dead by police and hundreds of others injured due to police brutality. Over 50 people have also been arrested, although observers believe the number of dead and those arrested could be much higher.
The activation of the country’s military to patrol Nairobi, East and Central Africa’s largest city, came on the day the youth-led movement had signaled that their next target, after the successful storming of parliament, was the president’s official residence which was to happen on Thursday. Following the military deployment, protests were more muted and the storming which was being organized under the hashtag #OccupyStateHouse did not happen.
On Sunday, protestors in Brooklyn Center stood on the steps of the pavilion at Centennial Park carrying signs calling for Ruto’s resignation and a rejection of the government finance bill.
Cosmas Onyambu, a teacher and social worker in St. Paul, Minn., read the 6-page statement on behalf of the gathering.
“Kenyan citizens residing in Minnesota have watched in disbelief as peaceful demonstrations led by our youth, commonly referred to as “Gen Z,” have been met with violent and criminal responses from the police. The protesters were peaceful, chanting “We are peaceful,” yet the police attacked them with water cannons, tear gas, and live bullets, resulting in many deaths and injuries. This is a profoundly regrettable occurrence,” Mr. Mayaka said.
“President William Ruto’s 2022 campaign promised food security, support for small and medium businesses, improved housing, healthcare, a digital superhighway, a creative economy, and better public services. None of these promises have been fulfilled. Instead, his administration has embarked on a campaign of mass impoverishment, borrowing heavily without delivering corresponding development projects. In less than two years of his presidency, President William Ruto has borrowed more and spent less in development than his two predecessors despite collecting much more taxes thus creating and imposing a tax menace on Kenyans,” he said. “By June 2023, Kenya’s gross debt had soared to Ksh 10.19 trillion, with no visible benefits for the people.”
The Sunday statement also included “10 non-negotiable actions,” among them the resignation of Ruto.
As he watched the youth-led protests unfold online, 18-year-old Tony Machoka finally had enough. He started asking his dad what he could do, and that is how he found himself at the Sunday event carrying a placard that read “We have had enough.”
Machoka grew up in Thika, a town just 25 miles from Nairobi. He moved to Minnesota when he was 16 for his last two years of high school, which he wrapped up last month. He said it has been traumatic to see familiar streets in Nairobi being patrolled by the military and heavy teargas been lobbed at peaceful youth protestors.
“I have spoken with some of my friends back in Kenya and they are saying it’s really bad, so sad to see all these pictures of people being shot at by police” Machoka said. “Ruto just wants to tax everything, even those who have nothing, he has to go.”
“It is unacceptable what Ruto is doing to our country, I am here to send my condolences to the mothers who have lost their children,” said Domitila Mwandau who attended the event carrying a sign that read “Ruto must go now.” A mother to five Gen Zs, she said she is grieving with the mothers in Kenya.
After the Sunday event, Henry Ongeri, a Twin Cities attorney who ran unscuccefully for governor in his native Nyamira County in Kenya two years ago and helped organize the Sunday event, said calls for Ruto’s resignation are getting more urgent by the day.
“We are going to continue this pressure until Ruto goes, and the finance bill is gone for good, those two things have to happen before we stop,” Mr. Ongeri said.
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About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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