NAIROBI, Kenya – William Ruto will be inaugurated as Kenya’s fifth president on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by dozens of global leaders and diplomats – a peaceful handover of power. after a bitter election season underscored democracy’s place in East Africa’s largest economy.
But in a possible ominous sign for press freedom, Mr. Ruto’s team has restricted the access of local TV stations. to the inauguration, transferred the exclusive rights to broadcast the ceremony to a foreign television service. (Journalists from local newspapers and radio stations can cover the proceedings directly.)
During the election campaign, Mr. Ruto has repeatedly accused the Kenyan media of being biased against him, and some analysts have suggested that the decision to restrict their attendance at the ceremony was a mistake. signs of his displeasure.
Mutuma Mathiu, editor-in-chief of Nation Media Group, which owns print and television newspapers, said in an interview that it has a “national obligation” to transfer power and protect its organization. himself against accusations of bias.
However, he said, “I don’t think we want to start a mud fight at a wedding and in the process, the bride gets dirt on her gown.”
Mr. Ruto won the August 9 vote with ultra-thin margins compared to her rival, Raila Odinga, who dismissed the result and challenged it in the Supreme Court. But The court upheld Mr. Ruto’s victory in a unanimous decision last week.
Ruto, 55, who has been the country’s vice president for the past 10 years, was born into a religious family in a small village in Kenya’s Rift Valley, where he helped grow corn and went to school barefoot. . He showed his early interest in politics in the 1990s, becoming a close ally of Kenya’s longtime ruler, Daniel arap Moi, winning a seat in Parliament and later holding it. Cabinet Minister for Agriculture and Higher Education.
His extraordinary rise Almost ended a decade ago, when the International Criminal Court charged him with crimes against humanity, accusing him of helping orchestrate the violence following the 2007 election. lawsuit against him in 2016, because the government he served as vice president obstructed evidence collection and witnesses withdrew their testimony.
Despite his dizzying wealth, with a business empire that includes luxury many hotelsLivestock farm and a huge poultry processing plant, Mr. Ruto introduced his campaign this year for Kenya’s “hustlers”, countless young and ambitious strivers trying to make a living. During the election campaign, Mr. Ruto clashed with his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who endorsed Mr. Ruto’s rival Mr. Odinga, former prime minister and opposition figure.
Mr. Kenyatta did not congratulate Mr. Ruto until Monday evening, when he finally welcome him to the president’s office. Mr. Kenyatta is expected to be present at the inauguration, but Mr. Odinga said in a tweet that he will not attend.
Mr. Ruto takes the helm of a country facing economic, political and social challenges. Kenya’s economy is heavily indebted, most of which is borrowed to finance large infrastructure projects. Inflation is escalating, the currency continues to depreciate against the dollar and food and fuel prices skyrocket because of the war in Ukraine. Four consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall have left more than four million Kenyans hungry and thirsty.
Kenya is located in an area of conflict – in EthiopiaSomalia, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo – and Mr. Ruto, according to observers, could play a role in promoting peace and stability in the region.
But at home, he faces a divided nation after a tumultuous election.
Dr Karuti Kanyinga, a scholar at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi, said: “The new regulator has a full inbox. “There’s a lot to worry about.”
Those worries were rekindled this weekend when Mr. Ruto’s team announced that it would give exclusive broadcast rights to cover the inauguration not to the local media, but only to MultiChoice Kenya – a subsidiary of the South African pay-TV company MultiChoice. Kenyan media will have to rely on broadcasts from South African TV channels.
Dennis Itumbi, a spokesman for Mr. Ruto, justified the move by saying that Multichoice Kenya is not just any private contractor but already part ownership of Kenyan national television. Wanjohi Githae, a member of Mr. Ruto’s media team, said in a text message that although local media were able to bring in their broadcast cars, there was no parking space for them “anything”. somewhere near the stadium.”
On Tuesday morning, Nation Media’s Mathiu said that after negotiations with Mr Ruto’s team, they were allowed to ride their vans around the stadium but the main feed would still come from MultiChoice. The contract with the company has not been made public, but Mr. Mathiu said he expects the feed to be forwarded free of charge.
Media analysts said they hope the move does not add to an era in which journalism will be further stifled.
David Makali, a veteran journalist and media strategist, said: “Optics does not look favorable given how this measure is implemented. “But I am willing to give the new government the benefit of the doubt and hope this is not a deliberate move to suppress the press.”
