Kenya’s President William Ruto has initiated a groundbreaking online forum with anti-tax protesters on the social media platform X Spaces, declaring his intent to listen to their concerns.
The session, dubbed #EngageThePresident, aims to provide young people a direct line to the president.
Charlene Ruto, the president’s 31-year-old daughter, highlighted this event as the first of its kind, noting it was aimed at Gen Z, the group largely responsible for recent protests against her father’s finance bill.
These demonstrations, sparked by proposed tax increases, were organized via X Spaces, a feature for live audio conversations on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Despite some Kenyans planning to boycott the president’s chat and host a parallel Space, arguing that their demands are already known, the session began about 45 minutes late due to technical difficulties.
President Ruto, responding to the public outcry over the tax hikes, has promised to withdraw the controversial legislation. He also announced several cost-cutting measures in a national address, including:
- Dissolving 47 state corporations with overlapping functions
- Suspending new vehicle purchases for state officials for six months
- Halting all non-essential travel for state officials
- Reducing government advisers by 50%
- Scrapping the budget for the first lady and spouses of the deputy president and prime cabinet secretary
- Enforcing the retirement of public servants at the age of 60
The protests, which led to the deaths of over 40 people according to a state-funded human rights commission, have evolved into calls for President Ruto’s resignation and demands for justice regarding the killings by security forces.
President Ruto began his online session by expressing condolences and framing the current challenges as an opportunity for national dialogue on critical issues like taxation, debt, corruption, and unemployment.
The X Space session, set to last three hours, features participation from some of his cabinet members, although it faced a delayed start.
