While Ibrahim Traore has been compared and likened to Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, Kenya’s President, William Ruto has been likened to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, at least he was when he first came into power. Just as Traore has patterned his leadership in the style of Thomas Sankara, everyone believed that William Ruto was following in the footsteps of Muammar Gaddafi who was a true Pan-African. Gaddafi, while he was still alive, was notable for pushing for a United States of Africa with one economy, one government, and one military. His speeches at different international summits reflected his Pan-African dream. His actions did as well. Gadaffi was also a known anti-Western proponent which made him be regarded as an enemy of the West and this eventually led to his assassination. William Ruto seemed to follow Gaddafi’s footsteps at first. He has spoken against the dominance of the dollar and urged other African nations to shift away from it. He has spoken against the IMF and other international monetary organizations for their unfair policy towards Africa. He has also spoken about the need for Africa to use a single currency. But, despite all his speeches which seemed to have made him anti-Western and Pan-African, William Ruto’s actions in recent times speak otherwise. What actions has he taken and can we still regard the Kenyan President as a true Pan-African? Stay with us as we show you.

President William Ruto came into power in August 2022, after he was declared the winner of the election. The announcement signaled that he had defeated two of his former bosses and allies, Raila Odinga, fellow presidential candidate, and his backer, sitting President Uhuru Kenyatta, in the race to become the fifth President of Kenya. During his campaign, he identified himself as a poor man who understood the needs of the Kenyan people who had suffered under the leadership of President Kenyatta. His populist Kenya Kwanza movement which meant ‘Kenya First’ in Swahili, targeted not just his strongholds but also jobless youths and opposition areas. President Ruto styled himself as a hustler who had hawked chicken and peanuts on the streets, promising to provide better economic solutions than the Odinga and Kenyatta dynasties had done, or could do. Under President Kenyatta, Kenya was suffering heavily from the high cost of living, rising food and fuel prices, high unemployment, and a worrying debt burden. In his campaign, President Ruto promised to turn things around, to fix the economy affected by corruption and ineptitude. All these endeared him to the Kenyan people who voted for him, thereby leading to his ascension into power as the 5th President of Kenya.

Now, it’s only a few African leaders who after winning an election decide to push themselves out onto the global stage and President Ruto decided to be one such African leader. Immediately he was sworn into power, President Ruto began to take the world by storm. He positioned himself as a champion for the African cause, advocating and pushing for the interest of the African continent all over the world. His speeches during summits have been distinct in that it has focused on issues affecting Africa while at the same time calling out the West on their imperialist attitude. For example, in his maiden address at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, President Ruto told the World Bank and IMF that there was a need to change the existing financing reforms which are not favorable to the African continent. He also added that these international financial institutions should consider extending new reliefs to African countries facing serious debt crises. Speaking when he attended a summit of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) held in Lusaka, Zambia, President Ruto called on the African Union (AU) Member States to donate certain powers to the continental bloc as part of the much-needed reforms to make the bodywork.

Another instance of his iconic speeches was during the Pan-African Parliament Summit on Climate Policy and Equity held in South Africa. During the summit, President Ruto spoke on how African leaders are treated as school children by the West and that during summits between Africa and foreign countries, African Heads of State are most of the time not given a platform to explain their issues in-depth when invited to attend international conferences. President Ruto is also noted for speaking about the need for Africa to shift away from the dollar and start using a single currency for African trade. This statement and many others have made a name for President Ruto as a true spokesman for the African continent. However, one year after being in power, President Ruto! ‘s image as a champion of the African cause has begun to fade. Many have described him as a two-faced leader who says one thing and does another. He has been called out as someone who pretends to be Pan-African, meanwhile, his actions show that he is cozying up to the West. On the pglobal stage, President Ruto is hailed as a champion of the African cause meanwhile back at home in Kenya, the people are not happy with him.

So, what exactly has William Ruto done that has made people doubt him?

One article calls William Ruto the biggest political swindle of Africa’s recent history, as well as a neocolonial puppet masquerading as a pan-African to advance imperial interests across Africa. A former member of the parliament in Kenya, Kabando wa Kabando, questioned how Ruto can be regarded as another Nkrumah or Nyerere when his top ranks stink to the high heavens with corruption case after another. The same article from the Black Agenda report says that William Ruto talks right and walks left. If you take a look at some of his recent actions, you can’t help but also say the same of him. In recent times, the same President Ruto who seemed to be anti-Western like Gadaffi has been called a dependable ally by Western countries. Now, the question is should Africans trust any African leader who is a dependable Western ally? Given the history of past African leaders who are allies of the West, the answer to that is a big No. So, how is William Ruto a dependable ally to the West?

First, In July, Russia withdrew a deal that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain through the Black Sea because according to them, Western countries did not keep to their part of the bargain. While the issue unfolded on the international scene, Kenya’s President was the only African leader who came out to openly criticize Russia’s move. This meant that he was on the same side with the West. Secondly, When the Russia-Africa summit was held, William Ruto was among those African leaders who did not attend. Can you see why the West sees him as a dependable ally? Certainly ant country that stands against Russia who the West sees as an enemy would definitely be an ally of the West. The Economist, a British weekly newspaper that focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture, stated that President Ruto also sounds reassuringly solid to Western ears on China. According to the newspaper,” Unlike his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, who cosied up to it, Mr Ruto looks more comfortable in Western capitals. In a frenetic year, he has visited European countries eight times, America twice, South Korea once and China not at all. He did not attend a recent summit convened by the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Johannesburg,”

Thirdly, On Tuesday, September 19, US President Joe Biden while making his remarks before the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York asked for help to restore order in Haiti. Guess who was the first to offer help? None other than our Pan-African leader President Ruto who promptly offered to send 1,000 police officers. Also on the same day, the President met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UNGA and pledged to support Ukraine during the war crisis following its invasion by Russia. Do you still wonder why he is a dependable Western ally?

President Ruto called African leaders to ditch the dollar, and focus on creating a single currency but a few months later, the same President is negotiating deals with the IMF and World Bank, the primary enablers of dollar hegemony. In July, 2023, Ruto went to the Pan-African Parliament Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, and spoke passionately about Africa’s shared destiny and the imperative to break free from Western influence, drawing a standing ovation from the audience. But hardly a month later, he was among the African leaders calling for the reinstatement of a Western-backed puppet president in Niger. From what we can see William Ruto is passionately standing with Ukraine against Russia, eloquently emphasizing a rules-based order, but not with Niger, an African country, against French occupation. During the 5th Mid-Year AU Meeting in July, he eloquently asserted that “The Pan-African movement has always been about sovereignty and agency. Yet, during the UN General Assembly, he was the first to offer to send his soldiers to violate Haiti’s sovereignty and undermine its agency on behalf of the US. On the same AU occasion, he spoke of Pan-African transformation through self-reliance. But, only a little more than one month later, he offered to outsource Mombasa ports for grain imports from Ukraine instead of encouraging grain production in Kenya.

The same President Ruro who previously spoke glowingly about the Africa Continental Free Trade Area went ahead to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union which is in direct contravention of the AfCFTA agreement. So, instead of African countries opening up their borders to each other for free trade between countries thereby promoting African integration, African countries have to open their borders for Europe encouraging increasing imports of European goods. So, based on all this can we still call President Ruto a Pan-African? Does he still deserve to be compared to the likes of Gadaffi and Nkrumah?

Julius Malema, President of the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa has also called out President Ruto on his recent actions. Malema stated that “I don’t know if President Ruto means it because he said so many things and I can’t locate these days because the things he said during the elections and the things he is doing now are two different things”. He also added that “I heard him say we need to do away with the dollar and build our own currency but his actions are speaking of anything but eradicating the dollar” The people of Kenya have also complained about President Ruto that all the promises he made during the campaign have not been fulfilled. Things are even worse off than it was before he became president. Many Kenyans now call President William Ruto “Zakayo” after the biblical tax collector Zacchaeus who extracted every last penny from citizens’ pockets. The reason for this is because the President recently signed a bill called the Finance Bill with the IMF and World Bank which is expected to generate more than $2.1 billion for the government’s depleted coffers. While it may look like a good idea for the government to generate more revenue, the bill included new taxes or increases on the price of basic goods such as fuel and food, and mobile money transfers, as well as a controversial levy on all taxpayers to fund a housing scheme. As usual, all the policies given by the World Bank to Africa have not been beneficial, yet African governments like President Ruto keep accepting them. How then will Africa achieve the economic and political independence that African heroes fought for? Why is President Ruto cozying up to the West and seemingly turning his back on what he professed? Is it that he has no choice or he is truly a two-faced leader who prefers to ally with the West?

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