Ruto's diplomatic challenges post Gen Z protests

After a brief lull, following the Gen Z protests against bad governance, President William Ruto is back in the skies, visiting China two weeks ago with other African leaders, and then quickly taking off to Germany this week.

Over the last two years, the president cultivated a high profile for himself and Kenya in the western capital, but does the same goodwill still prevail after the political turbulence that the country is now recovering from?

Researchers have argued that Ruto will now focus on winning hearts and minds abroad and at home, seeking support from domestic constituencies, and for that reason, he has become two faced.

Dr Karoline Eickhoff, a researcher at Megatrends Afrika and an associate with the Africa and Middle East Research Division at SWP, took a close look at President Ruto’s foreign policy after recent political developments in the country.

She argues in her detailed paper that Ruto is operating in an increasingly multipolar world, where divisions go beyond “domestic” and “international” pressures to include pushes and pulls from different international audiences whose expectations are at odds with each other.

And therein lies another challenge for Ruto because, under such conditions, an opportunistic foreign policy approach is easily perceived as double speak. But how much damage did the anti-Ruto protests do to his reputation as the custodian of western interests on a continent that has witnessed a surge in anti-western political rhetoric in Sahel, Sudan and parts of the South African region? Is he still held with the same high esteem in western capitals?

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, a member of the Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations Committee thinks going back to habits of flying outside the country is a wrong decision by Ruto because he has not addressed issues raised by Gen Z and many other Kenyans who thought the government had learnt it’s lessons.

He recounts the president holding an interview at State House and later having a meeting with Gen Z on X Space, where he promised to cut spending and improve on governance issues but regrets that he is going back to his old habits.

“You have seen him back globetrotting and also running up and down the country on car sun roofs, giving new promises on top of other unfulfilled ones. One wonders why the president has not learnt any lessons from the challenges he faced?,” says Osotsi.

Secondly, his view is that Ruto’s credibility received a big dent and the Kenya Kwanza government needed a serious public relations exercise globally as they also focus on the reforms that the Gen Z were demanding at home before engaging the international community.

Kenyans have in the past demanded to be told tangible benefits the country has received from the many international trips President Ruto has made in the short term since he took office.

The ODM MP wants the President to copy the example of President Mwai Kibaki, who made only 30 trips in his two 10-year presidential terms, as opposed to Ruto, who did a record-breaking 60 trips to 38 countries in 18 months.

“If you have a situation where the president is always outside when the economy is not doing well, then there is a serious problem in that country. He needs to travel when it is very necessary and instead delegate other trips to CSs,” adds Osotsi.

After winning elections, President Ruto quickly engaged in a diplomatic charm offensive, with the backing of the US ambassador in Kenya, Meg Whittman, a close confidant of US President Joe Biden, in the process wooing many western countries.

He quickly became their darling on the African continent, earning him and his delegations high profile invitations to western capitals and other places worldwide, including the State dinner at the White House in Washington DC and attending the G7 meeting in Rome.

Asked why the number of foreign trips became a big issue, foreign policy and political analyst Prof Macharia Munene acknowledged that some trips are necessary but says others are undoubtedly wasteful.

"You have presidents who love to be in the air. Some of these trips are personal glorifications, not so much for the country," he said in a recent interview after the protests.

Prof Peter Kagwanja, the director Africa Policy Institute also injects some perspective into Rutos’s travels, arguing that, being the principal foreign affairs officer in the country, the president’s visits to friendly countries carry more weight than sending junior officials.

He posits that it is necessary for the president to make some travels because lower cadre officials may not be taken seriously by the hosts and it also adds more value in building foreign relations

“It should be a balancing act where the number of trips are kept low but he at the same time maximises on his few visits to put a firm hand on those friendly countries. What we saw is that in 20 months there were 62 trips in 38 countries and that is why many Kenyans asked questions,” said Kagwanja.

He contrasts the current situation previous leaders like the first president, Jomo Kenyatta who made only two or three trips in his 15-year rule, leaving all the travelling to his deputy Daniel arap Moi, who visited almost every part of the world.

During Moi’s 24-year rule, he made most of the trips himself, while his successor, Kibaki, balanced the trips between himself and his vice presidents, especially Kalonzo Musyoka after 2007.

“That is why Kalonzo’s portfolio is very strong on foreign affairs. Uhuru Kenyatta was a quintessential traveller who went to all major meetings like the G7 and others,” adds Kagwanja.

He thinks the biggest challenge facing Ruto is the gains Kenyans reap from his many foreign travels, particularly at this time when the country is operating on a shoestring budget.

Coupled with travels outside the country by many other public officers especially MPs, Kenyans then continue questioning why such opulence is happening in a very constrained economy.

In her paper, Eickhoff writes that Kenya is perceived as in alignment with the West in Western capitals because of Ruto’s positions on selected global conflicts, including Haiti, Ukraine, and Gaza, and its cooperative stance towards the IMF.

She also contends that because of Kenya’s democratic credentials, green energy profile, and keen interest in European investment, European actors are willing to recognise her desire to play a more prominent role on the international stage, particularly in the field of climate diplomacy.

“In Africa, Ruto’s political proximity to US and European capitals, and thus Western political interests, appears to stand in the way of his ambitions to be recognised as a thought leader,” she argues.

Adding that although African peers appreciate his emancipatory rhetoric, they criticise his positioning on global conflicts, which is sometimes perceived as more orientated toward the West than towards Africa.

Controversies around his foreign policy are illustrative of wider debates on the continent about autonomy and non-alignment in an increasingly divided political environment where a balanced approach to the “East” and “West” is largely preferred.

Her thinking is that ultimately, the Kenyan people will have the final say when it comes to rating Ruto and his government because they are perceived to be underperforming.

“When it comes to foreign policy, Kenyans primarily want to know how the president’s trips abroad benefit the country. During these times of economic hardship, Ruto’s trips have fueled discontent with his leadership and are widely perceived as personal status-seeking missions,” Eickhoff rightly points out.

She also writes that Ruto has been criticised for monopolising the “African” climate agenda, seeking to shape the direction of climate investment in line with Kenya’s energy and resource profile and its own economic interest at the expense of countries that rely on fossil fuels.

Given Ruto’s dominant role in climate policy, several African heads of state reportedly decided not to attend the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi last year.

President Ruto has defended his travels, arguing that many investment deals worth billions of dollars may have been secured, but it has also emerged that geopolitics has been one of the main agenda item during his visits especially to western capitals.

Late last year, President William Ruto travelled to China amid more criticism and, upon returning, told off the critics, saying he was able to secure employment opportunities for young Kenyans who are grappling with unemployment through the travels.

"There are people making noise and complaining about my travelling. That is what my job as a president entails. I am the Chief agent. I am the ambassador of Kenya in matters of development. I travel for just two days to go search for employment for Kenyans you are making noise.

“I was in China, and they agreed to open a market for tea, macadamia and avocado. We also have secured more markets in South Korea and the European Union. We will sign a trade pact with the 27 EU countries when the Speaker visits here,” Ruto told congregants at the St Mathews ACK Church in Eldoret.