Decades apart, Ruto's development tours echo Kanu-style platform for roadside declarations

President William Ruto addresses residents of Mathare during a development tour of the Constituency in Nairobi County. [PHOTO HIRAM OMONDI/PCS.]

Now that his foreign travel — after more than 60 overseas trips in his first 18 months of office — appears to have slowed down, it comes as little surprise that President William Ruto’s work schedule increasingly features local “development tours” across the country.  Nobody will willingly admit it, but the Gen Z protests of 2024, following cost of living protests in 2023, may partly explain this new fondness for domestic travel.

That is a story for another day, though it is useful to recall Africa’s history of ousting leaders while abroad.  Broad-based government, another outcome of last year’s protests, is a useful failsafe against such mischief.