President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto ratings drop further, new survey shows

NAIROBI: Public ratings of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have fallen significantly in the last four months according to a new poll.

The confidence levels on the President have dramatically slid to a new low of 48 per cent, down from 67 per cent in December and a high of 71 per cent in October last year, says the opinion poll by Ipsos.

Ruto’s ratings have also tumbled to 35 per cent from 63 per cent in December last year. This drop has been linked by Ipsos to insecurity incidents, especially the recent Garissa University College attack in which 148 people were killed by Al Shabaab militants.

But despite the slipping ratings, the President and his deputy are still ahead of their key political rivals in Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula.

The Head of State also enjoys more confidence among Kenyans than other key public office holders such as governors, the Attorney General, Cabinet secretaries and county commissioners.

Raila polled 29 per cent, a slight increase from 24 per cent in November and 28 per cent in September. Kalonzo and Wetang’ula tie at only 18 per cent.

More Kenyans continue to approve of First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, rating her the most popular at 55 per cent, up from 50 per cent in December last year. Her charity work, especially the ‘Beyond Zero Campaign’ and other public initiatives seem to be getting a big thumbs-up.

In terms of confidence ratings, the President has seen worse days, such as May last year when his ratings stood at 32 per cent. His highest rating was 71 per cent in October last year when he ‘transferred power’ to his deputy and attended a status conference of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. In December last, he enjoyed 67 per cent confidence rating after the ICC cases against him were withdrawn.

In terms of the percentage of Kenyans who had no confidence in their leaders, Kalonzo, Wetang’ula and Raila lead the pack with 32 per cent, 31 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. The First Lady and the President had the least percentage in this category of 8 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

Generally, more Kenyans (23 per cent) have no confidence in the Opposition than those who have confidence in it (18 per cent). The President enjoys the highest confidence among the ruling Jubilee  supporters (68 per cent) compared to CORD, in which only 22 per cent expressed confidence in the coalition.

Interestingly, Ruto enjoys lower levels of confidence among Jubilee supporters (55 per cent) compared to the President (68 per cent). Similarly, among CORD supporters, the DP also has lower levels of confidence (12 per cent) compared to Uhuru (22 per cent).

Ipsos analysts wondered if the huge difference between the confidence levels of Uhuru and Ruto on one hand and the national government (19 per cent) was due to an ‘astute personal public relations machinery’ since the two lead the same government.

Majority of Kenyans interviewed (27 per cent) have no confidence in Majority Leader Aden Duale compared to those who have (15 per cent) even though he enjoys more confidence than Speaker of National Assembly Justin Muturi, whose rating is 14 per cent.

And 25 per cent have no confidence in cabinet secretaries compared to those who have confidence in them (14 per cent). County commissioners and provincial administration officers also enjoy a slim confidence level of 19 per cent, almost as much as the percentage of Kenyans who have no confidence in them (18 per cent).

Only 18 per cent have confidence in Attorney General Githu Muigai. County governments enjoy more confidence (22 per cent) than national government (19 per cent).

MPs enjoy the highest confidence ratings (22 per cent) followed by governors (21 per cent)). Interestingly, Kenyans have more confidence in members of county assemblies (20 per cent) than senators (19 per cent).

The standing of the Judiciary including the Chief Justice remains low, with only (21 per cent) expressing ‘a lot of confidence’ in the Supreme Court and CJ (22 per cent), and even lower ratings for other courts and the Judiciary as a whole (12 per cent and 15 per cent respectively).