Ruto: Kenya is now a strong democracy
By Kevin CheruiyotPresident William Ruto says the peaceful transfer of power in September 2022 has strengthened Kenya’s position as a democratic state.
Speaking in the US on December 14, 2022, at the US-Africa business forum briefing session, the Head of State said the strengthened democracy has enabled him and Mr Raila Odinga, his main challenger in the August 2022 polls, to attend the same meeting.
He also lauded the move by his predecessor, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, to accept the new role of representing him in the regional peace talks.
“My competitor who ran against me is in this meeting, to demonstrate that we are a democratic country. My predecessor President Uhuru Kenyatta is representing me, although he did not support me, he is representing me in East Africa Community (EAC) on the talks in DRC and Ethiopia,” President Ruto said.
“We are democratic and are trying to put up institutions that can withstand any challenge.”
President Ruto also stressed that Kenya is running an open financial and commercial economy that respects business and investments.
“You can ask Google, you can ask Visa, Coca-Cola, UBA, they will all bear testimony that we have a financial system that is working, that is open and respects investment.”
During the summit, the president challenged the US with its rich resources to take advantage of the huge land resources in the African continent to invest.
“Instead of exporting commodities, the US should find an opportunity in investing the capital they have, the machinery they have, the know-how they have so that they can produce for the African continent in Africa, not to export commodities into Africa,” President Ruto said.
This is the first event that the President and Mr Odinga are meeting after the election, where the Opposition Leader disputed the results but accepted the court’s ruling that upheld the win of President Ruto.
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