Is William Ruto the most unfriendly president of Kenyans in history?

William Ruto in Kenya entered the post of enthusiasm among ordinary people who hoped he would fulfill his promises to improve his life. Instead, he is confronted with relentless criticism – he is regarded as unmatched in the history of the country.

It seems disappointed with the intensity of the backlash, he asked on Wednesday why such an indignation of the public had never been directed at his predecessors, including Daniel Moi, who ruled the iron fist for two decades, marked by political repression and human rights abuses.

On Wednesday, Ruto stood: “All this chaos, why was he not directed at (former presidents), Mwai Kibaki, Uhur Kenyat … Why contempt and arrogance?”

Analysts describe the current wave of public anger to President Ruto, who has killed more than 100 people in the last year as “unprecedented”, bringing together Kenyans in ethnic, religious and class units.

Protests against his administration began a year after he entered into power. Three years in many victims of Kenyans now want to leave – against the backdrop of relentless protests with the rallies “Ruto must go” and “Ruto Vantam” (Ruto in one term).

When Ruto fought for the presidency, he reflected himself as a common man who came from childhood marked by poverty and sustainability. He turned to the ordinary people as a person they could get inspired – rising from the seller of the chicken to the president.

Unlike this year, when the newspaper spit out the title with the question whether the “most hated President of Kenya” was, the mood that often repeated on the platforms of social media and public discourse.

This means an extreme change in Kenyan politics, often formed by ethnic preferences and class units. Just as Ruto was seen as the transition of these barriers to get the presidency, the same dynamics are now working against it.

This week, the phrase “We all kick”, a tendency on social media when the youth rejected attempts to re -present ethnic divisions that have long suffered Kenyan politics. There was a counter -story about “We all Kenyans”, but could not get a similar craving – some saw it as an attempt to dilute the expression of solidarity in the first message.

The Kenya’s largest ethnic group from the Mountains of Kenya, mostly supported Ruto in the 2022 elections, together with Rigat Guchagua, who is from the region as his deputy.

But last year, the Hachago went from office through the dramatic process of impeachment, which he called as a betrayal, caused dissatisfaction in the region. After some Ruto’s policies were accused of quagging the elites of nourishing the opposition against the president.

Political analyst Mark Bichawi says that opposition to the president is not moving ethnically, but occurs in different communities of urban and rural areas.

He calls “public resonance against the president as well as the” unprecedented “and” historical “regime, even exceeding the political upheaval of the 1980s and 1990s, when Moi ruled a one-party state.

The period was marked by severe repression and bloody struggle for multi -party democracy, but Mr. BBC tells the BBC that it does not cause pressure now on Ruto, adding that tension was then connected with the Cold War and felt all over the continent.

But Academician Dr. Nyaki says that criticism, which is equal to the president, is not unusual, but part of the political tradition in crisis.

“All the presidents, when they were against the Constitution, against the will of the Kenyan people, have always encountered a lot of criticism,” she says the BBC.

It points to past leaders such as the founder -founder Joome Kenya and his successor to Moi, who have encountered an intensive reaction and loss of public trust in critical moments – including after the murder of key political leaders and attempted coup against May in 1982.

“What is different (this time) is what the scale of information dissemination is higher,” she says, noting that the impact of Kenya’s digital youth, wide access to social media and digital instruments has increased public discourse.

She also describes Ruto, as always, was “very conservative”, believing that his political outlook faces more liberal values taken by many Kenyans – especially young people.

This is an ideological inconsistency, it claims, contributed to increasing tension.

The current resistance companies are largely under the guidance of youth, decentralized and considered as a leader, mainly unfolding outside the established political class. Since last year, they have been caused by anger over the high cost of life, aggressive taxation, corruption and police cruelty.

But pointing to ethnic policy and incitement as fueled by the latest unrest, the president said on Wednesday: we will dwell with ethnic division, hatred, pride and contempt. We are all Kenyans. “

He promised to use “any necessary” to maintain peace and stability. He called the police Shoot at the feet. His comments caused more outrage and bullying.

Since last year, the Kenya government has responded to protests and disagreement with severe repression, including mass arrests and allegedly abductions by operational operational.

This strategy, according to their rights, only deepened public outrage and gave citizens from the state when the police have accused the use of excessive force to stop the protests.

Since June last year, more than 100 people have been killed in consecutive waves of anti -government protests. The latter took 38 lives on Monday, which celebrated the most deadly day of excitement.

Instead of serving a police reform catalyst or pushing efforts to pacify protesters, death often served as a spark for the following protests, turning the grief into fury.

The government has accused of protest rally, accusing them of attacking police and even trying to arrange a coup.

Hesbon’s political communication expert calls the excitement, “perhaps the most intense indignation against the regime” in the history of Kenya. He says it brought people from all walks of society to unite in defiance.

He lowers it before the president communicates with people. He says the promises of Ruto raised the happiness of ordinary people “true, extremely real” and moved the company from ethnic mobilization to the release policy.

“Then he became president. We are still waiting. What the Kenyans feel is worse,” he says the BBC, grasping a deep sense of disappointment among many Kenyans.

He says that unlike the past governments that made careful promises, Ruto has made and continues to make, wide promises, which led to violated expectations.

“Disappointment creates rage,” he says.

Referring to the example of the order of shooting with protesters, he also says that the president often says when silence can serve him better – overlapping himself and accidentally forcing serious national problems to feel personal.

As a result, when criticism arises, it is usually aimed at it, not attributed to the failure of control systems.

However, Ruto repeatedly emphasized the efforts of his administration to improve the life of all Kenyans, pointing to the flagship project of the accessible housing of the government, the universal health scheme, digital jobs and overseas employment program as key achievements.

This week, after checking one of the housing places, he acknowledged the severity of the youth unemployment, but stressed that the problem preceded his presidency.

He insisted that his government was the first to take intentional measures to combat the crisis, citing state initiatives, such as a housing project, which, he said, created hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The president turned to patience because the problem would take time to solve.

However, patience, especially against the backdrop of high life costs, are dissatisfied with expectations, and grow frustration, not that most Kenyans think they can afford.

Some of these flagship programs have come to the steep costs for Kenyans who now have 1.5% for housing, and 2.75% of the health insurance tax calculated from their monthly income. Pain from paying some of these higher taxes prevails in everyday conversations, especially given that higher taxes have not led to the best public services.

On the government’s loan, Mr. Ovila says that some initiatives such as a universal health project have had a great influence and others may eventually give for many.

But Mr. Bishchi claims that the government “has lost the connection with how people feel,” and its tone remained unchanged, despite the growth of public grievance.

He says the question is unlikely to change depending on how the government works-writing it as a “attitude towards hatred” between people and the presidency.

This “how we find ourselves where we are,” he concludes, citing the intense resentment, which is now facing the president, who once was one of “the most applause and wavy leaders to come to the Kenyan state.”