President Ruto Accused of Playing Mercenary in Sudan Mediation

Gen Yasir Alatta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) has ordered President William Ruto of Kenya to quit the mediation talks because he is allegedly playing a mercenary role.

Gen Yasir Alatta accused President Ruto, of “being a mercenary for another country”—which he did not name. The General made the accusation on Sunday while addressing the media.

While inspecting a special Engineering Division in Khartoum, claimed that the unnamed country that supports Ruto is also a major backer of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Since the June 15 IGAD summit in Addis Ababa, has consistently rejected Kenyan Leadership accusing President Ruto of bias, ostentibly due to past business links with Lt.Gen. Daglo.

However, on July 15, President Ruto is said to have spoken to the Sudan Junta Leader, Lt.Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan by phone to persuade him to cooperate with the IGAD quartet which Ruto leads, and consider ceasfire that would allow humanitarian agencies to reach the more than 2.5 million people that have been displaced and trapped internally by the conflict that started on April 15.

Lt.Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told President Ruto that he is ready to halt hositilities on condition that the RSF soldiers are removed from the capital Khartoum.

Ruto also proposed parallel mediation talks under the Jeddah Imitative fronted by the US and SAaudi Arabia should work hand in hand with IGAD to avoid duplicity.

President Ruto Squeezes Kenyatta Family Over Tax Evasion

On August 15, 2022, William Ruto now President of Kenya unveiled his political plan during heated campaigns and threatened to prosecute then President Uhuru Kenyatta after winning elections.

Ruto won the elections anyway, and few months in office, President Ruto could be clandestinely preparing to prosecute his predecessor Kenyatta as part of trimming the latter’s influence in the country.

Ruto has allegedly accused certain unnamed individuals who served in the previous government of trying to undermine his government to avoid paying taxes.

“This nation does not practice inequality among its citizens. We aim to establish a society where every individual contributes their fair share towards tax increases,” said Ruto.

Ruto has accused his predecessor of funding veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga as part of a broader plan to undermine his government and divert its focus from ensuring that all Kenyans pay taxes.

“I assure sponsors of demonstrations who evade taxes that their tactics will no longer succeed. No exemptions will be granted. This nation does not favor some over others,” he declared.

Former President Kenyatta has asked President Ruto to curb excessive talking and concentrate on delivering services. He observed that the current regime talks big but acts little.

Kenyatta revealed that there are attempts by the incumbent government to conduct a tax audit on his family properties.

“Do not mind these people who are making unnecessary noise. Let them shout. People who have nothing else to do must always make noise,” he said.

“There are people who talk a lot about what they will do and do nothing and those are many,” he said.

The alliance between Kenyatta and Odinga, which led to the need for constitutional reforms in the country, caused a rift between former President Kenyatta and his then-deputy Ruto, who strongly opposed the changes.

President Ruto’s open defiance then compelled his former boss to endorse Odinga as his successor in the 2022 presidential election.
Despite being Odinga’s fifth bid for the presidency, he lost to President Ruto.

According to an old Kenyan tax law(Estate Duty Act-), Section 7 (3) of the Act grants former Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi tax exemptions.

Senator Samson Cherargei from Nandi recently petitioned the Senate Clerk to modify the old law.

“The proposed amendment seeks to remedy the unconstitutional and illegal legislation, establish fairness in the taxation system, and ensure equal treatment under the law for all Kenyans,” he said.

Senator Cherargei is proposing to have people with disabilities, minorities, and the marginalized enjoy the exemption instead.

Meanwhile former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, who on Saturday denied claims that the Kenyatta family is avoiding taxes.

She challenged the government to auction the Kenyatta properties if they failed to pay taxes.

“There are procedures on matters of taxes and one cannot avoid paying taxes because it is illegal,” she said.

“If all these reports are true then they should reclaim the money from the businesses,” she added.

Inside Tanzania-Kenya Fight to Control East African Markets

Kenya’s plan to control East Africa’s logistics corridor has been put to a fresh test after Tanzania moved to extend its standard gauge railway (SGR) to neighbouring landlocked countries, months after Kenya’s line hit a dead end in Naivasha, reigniting the rivalry between the two biggest nations in the region.

Tanzania inked a $2.2 billion (Sh271 billion) deal with two Chinese contractors late last month that will see the final section of the 2,102 km SGR, the longest stretch of the modern railway line on the continent, completed by 2026.

The new deal brings the total cost of the railway to $10.04 billion (Sh1.24 trillion) and intensifies competition between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam for the dominance of the trade routes in the region.

Analysts reckon that Tanzania’s signing of the contract with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Corporation gives Dar a fighting chance in the race to control the trade routes.

In 2014, the Government of Kenya entered into a tripartite agreement with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda to construct a standard gauge railway from Mombasa through Kampala Uganda to Kigali Rwanda.

However, the SGR ended abruptly in Naivasha with China reportedly refusing to finance the last leg of the modern railway after failing to strike an agreement with Uganda.

The Chinese-built SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha was constructed at a total cost of Sh628 billion with loans from the Exim Bank of China.

The SGR, Kenya’s most expensive infrastructural project, has come under intense criticism for not being value for money despite its massive investments.

The construction of the 506km section of the SGR in Tanzania that runs from Tabora in the mid-western part of the country to Kigoma in the western region of the country on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and the DRC will be critical in linking the landlocked countries of Rwanda, Burundi and DRC to the port of Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam port is a major competitor for Kenya’s Mombasa port, with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan noting that the completion of the SGR—which will eventually extend to the nickel sites in Burundi—will help her country utilise its geographic advantage.

“The main objective was to link Tanzania to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Hassan, adding that they have already identified a contractor that will extend the line from Mwiza, Tanzania, to Gitega, Burundi, closer to the nickel sites.

“This is a railway that is going to open up Tanzania and link it to the eastern side of DRC where there is a lot of cargo that needs to be transported on the ports on the Indian Ocean to the global market,” said Ms Suluhu, noting that this mineral-rich area of DRC has the potential for offering 150 million tonnes of goods for transport.

Tanzania’s Transport minister Prof. Makame Mbarawe said the plan is to link all the East African countries, including Kenya’s trading partner, Uganda, in what will be a major blow to Nairobi’s northern corridor.

With the entry of DRC into the East African Community (EAC) trading block, Kenya is keen to benefit from the 90-million market with two of its largest banks making forays to take advantage of the huge potential of cross-border traders in the Central African country.

Kenya, the only middle-income country in the region, is still smarting from the loss of jointly building the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to evacuate crude oil from the oilfields in Uganda after Kampala opted to use the Tanzanian route.

Gerrisho Ikiara, an economist and former transport permanent secretary in President Mwai Kibaki’s government, noted the faster Kenya moves in the completion of the last phase of the SGR, the more it will be able to continue playing a big part in the Northern corridor.

“Whoever completes the railway fast—Tanzania or Kenya—will be able to dominate the trade in the region,” said Mr Ikiara.

Road and Transport Cabinet secretary Kipchumba Murkomen recently said the Kenya Kwanza administration in partnership with the Chinese government is keen on extending the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and finally Malaba.

“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” Murkomen said in a statement on December 15.

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, told the South China Morning Post that the steady progress in the construction of Tanzania’s SGR had given the country an edge over Kenya.

“At the moment, it looks as if Tanzania might win East Africa’s railway race by linking cargo markets in Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda with Tanzanian seaports,” Zajontz said.

Early this month, Uganda’s President Yoweri raised hopes of the SGR being extended after he said that they would build one reaching the Kenyan border.

“We’re going to build a brand new [SGR line] from Kampala to Kasese. Later on, we will [extend it] from Kampala to the border of Kenya and then to South Sudan,” he told the third biannual meeting of private sector chief executive officers in Karuma recently

“We want [to lower the] cost of transport [and] improve our competitiveness,” he added.

President Museveni’s announcement revives the hope of extending the Chinese-funded SGR from Naivasha to Malaba via Kisumu.

Will President Ruto Prosecute Kenyatta Within 30-days?

Kenya’s 5th President William Ruto has said outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta has not yet congragulated him upon winning the August election.

Ruto whose relationship with outgoing President Kenyatta has been rough during the recent campaigns seems determined to extend further.

“Unfortunately, President Kenyatta has not seen it fit to congratulate me. Maybe he’s a bit disillusioned or maybe he’s unhappy that I defeated his candidate, but that is the nature of politics,” he stated.

Ruto was speaking to Christiane Amanpour of the Cable News Network (CNN) in an exclusive interview saying Kenyatta is disillusioned after beating his candidate Raila Odinga both at the polls and court.

Ruto said he had already reached out to his election rival Raila Odinga, and said he would build alliances that will help to bring the country together.

“The administration that I’m going to run is going to be an administration that is going to serve all Kenyans equally, whether they voted for us or they did not,” he stated.

However, during the tense campaigns, Ruto threatened that after winning the elections, he would commence a protracted prosecution of his former boss.

Ruto said he would establish a special tribunal to investigate and try outgoing President Uhuru for a host of crimes commited during his presidency.

The warning includes an inquiry into state capture and a tribunal on enforced disappearances and violation of human rights.

Ruto accuses the government to which he served as deputy president of being operated by cartels, fraudsters and economic saboteurs, and whom he blames for the rising cost of living.

According to him, the problem is that outgoing President Uhuru and his allies have over the last 10 years made policies and decisions to benefit his enterprise.

His accusations allege that key sectors of Kenya’s economy are currently being controlled by a few powerful families, hence the reason for the proposals of an inquiry under the Kenya Kwanza administration.

“State capture has strangled our economy.everything has been choreographed to benefit the private businesses of those in power,” says the deputy president of Kenya.

President-elect William Ruto’s swearing-in is set for next Tuesday September 13.

Kenyans will carefully wait to see whether Ruto will keep to his warning against his former boss which he said would “within 30 days after assuming office set up a quasi-judicial public inquiry to establish the extent of cronyism and state capture in the nation and make recommendations”.

President Kenyatta Finally Congratulates Ruto

Kenya’s president-elect William Ruto (pictured above) has asked his competitors in the recently concluded presidential elections to put their differences aside and work for a better Kenya.

Following a supreme court decision upholding William Ruto’s election, outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta has finally addressed the nation to congratulate his successor.

In a short address, Kenyatta also thanked Kenyans for taking part in the polls and acknowledged that there would be a smooth transition to the Ruto government.

Security agencies have intensified security across the various borders between Uganda and Kenya after Court’s final verdict on the presidential petition, where William Ruto’s win was upheld.

Ruto has begun receiving congragulatory messages from regional leaders and from across the world.

“I rang H.E Williams Ruto to congratulate him on the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to uphold his election as the 5th President of Kenya. I look forward to working with him to strengthen our Strategic Partnership in advancing the EAC agenda. God bless the people of Kenya,” said President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said America looks forward to working with the new government and deepening the two nations’ longstanding partnership for the benefit of Kenyans and Americans alike.

“The United States and Kenya share a strong and longstanding partnership based on a commitment to democracy, security, and economic prosperity.  We look forward to enhancing this partnership with President Ruto and his new government,” Blinken said in a statement.

Burundi’s President Variste Ndayishimiye also reiterated his congratulations to the President-elect.

“Your leadership will be the cornerstone for the reinforcement of the historical relations of our countries while fostering the regional integration,” Ndayishimiye said.

African Union Commission’s Chairperson Moussa Faki said “The Chairperson further wishes to congratulate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya, and all national stakeholders, for their collective efforts and exemplary conduct in holding peaceful elections up to the final outcome of the election petition by the Supreme Court of Kenya.”