Ruto's response to disaster in stark contrast to hands-on approach of former presidents

In the latest emergency, after hesitating for weeks, Ruto finally emerged on Friday to announce a raft of emergency measures to be enforced, among them the postponement of the opening of schools.

His announcement came a week after his Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu released another statement in the dead of the night, saying the opening had been moved from April 29, 2024, to tomorrow.

President Ruto's statement also came after more than 200 people are feared to have been killed in different parts of the country by flooded rivers and roads, mudslides and related hazards caused by the ongoing heavy rains in the country.

President Ruto's predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta faced perhaps one the biggest disasters the country has ever experienced when the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world.

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The former President was prompt in giving daily updates himself and in the process, carried all Kenyans along as the country collectively managed to deal with the epidemic.

In doing that, the President generated a lot of support from partners and the World Health Organisation and goodwill from the general populace, while also showing leadership to the entire continent of Africa.

This week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Kenyan authorities had not responded adequately to flash floods resulting from heavy rains.

The HRW report followed the displacement of thousands of families, which has created a lot of suffering across the country and also exacerbated socioeconomic challenges.

The HRW dispatch said the Kenya government has a human rights obligation to prevent foreseeable harm from climate change and extreme weather events and to protect people when a disaster strikes.

The report cautioned that extreme weather events such as flooding are threatening the marginalized and at-risk populations, including older people, people with disabilities, people in poverty, and rural populations.

Baringo residents wade through floods with their belongings after River Perkerra burst its banks flooding into villages in Marigat, Baringo County. [Joseph Kipsang, Standard]

It dealt with both natural disasters among them bush and forest fires, epidemics on human beings and animals, pests on crops, forests and livestock; geologic and climatic disasters like droughts, floods, landslides, cyclones, storm surges, coastal erosions earthquakes and invasive plants.

Examples of human-made disasters are like terrorist attacks carried out during Uhuru's reign which killed many Kenyans at the Westgate Mall, Garisa University and Dusit 2 Complex in Nairobi.

Others listed include industrial accidents, fires, transport accidents, civil, resource-based and political conflicts, collapsed infrastructure, food poisoning, drug and substance abuse, human trafficking, industrial sabotage, environmental degradation and other emerging disasters were also captured.

The rights group pointed out that people's abilities to cope with disasters are constrained or limited where poverty is widespread and deep.

Such areas like Mathare and Mukuru of Nairobi which have witnessed the current flooding, require greater investment in the systems of managing disasters.

"This vulnerability corresponds to the incidence of poverty in the country and as a result of the dynamic nature of the environment and disasters, as well as new approaches to disaster management, this policy recognizes the need to embrace new concepts such as Disaster Risk Reduction and climate change," read part of the report.

Disaster Risk Reduction is the systematic process of application of policies, strategies and practices to minimise vulnerabilities and disaster risks through preparedness, prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts of hazards within the context of sustainable development.

The policy also provided for an integrated and coordinated Disaster Risk Management focussing on preventing or reducing the risk of disasters, mitigating their severity, improving preparedness, rapid and effective response to disasters and post-disaster recovery.

The policy created the National Disaster Management Trust Fund and the District Disaster Management Fund which have largely not been effective.