In late 2016, a small group of civil society actors gathered at the Freedom Corner at Uhuru Park, in a public protest against corruption. They had brought with them banners with the words, “Act now or resign,” a message directed at President Uhuru Kenyatta. They soon encountered police who lobbed teargas at them, quickly dispersing them even before their protest had started.

In the same week, President Kenyatta convened the anti-corruption summit at State House, during which he resignedly made his now famous statement to the effect that he had tried everything in the fight against corruption, which had left him with nothing else to do.

In the campaign that led to his coming to power in 2013, President Kenyatta never promised action against corruption. Once in power, the priority issue was to save himself, and his deputy William Ruto against the International Criminal Court, before which the two faced charges at the time.