William Ruto's 100 days in office haven't been rosy, what does future hold?

President William Ruto displays a sword of power handed over to him by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta after swearing in at Kasarani stadium on September 13,2022. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

A whirlwind of political activity, legal battles and the opposition holding President William Ruto's feet to the fire have characterised his first 100 days in office.

The fifth president rode into office with lofty election promises made on his electrifying campaign trail.

Shortly after he was sworn in on September 13, President Ruto set out on an economic recovery agenda premised on undoing policies of the Uhuru Kenyatta regime and implementation of his ambitious seven-point manifesto.

Key pillars in his delivery plan for the first 100 days included lowering cost of living, implementing the Hustler Fund, having 50 per cent of Cabinet positions held by women and appointing judges rejected by former President Kenyatta.

Ruto also promised to prioritise implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, revert port operations to Mombasa and "cleansing" of the criminal justice system.

It has, however, not been a smooth sailing for the president currently in the throes of a political storm over his bid to re-introduce the office of the official leader of the opposition.

A fortnight ago, Ruto wrote to Speakers of Parliament to consider a constitutional amendment Bill to set up the office.

He was convinced the move would help actualise the government's constitutional mandate and deepen good governance.

Ruto's actions have consequently attracted the ire of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which deems the move illegal and an attempt to revive the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill through the back door.

LSK president Eric Theuri has urged Parliament to dismiss the president's proposal to amend the Constitution, setting the stage for a showdown when the august House resumes from recess in February 2023.

But before the constitutional amendment saga erupted, Ruto's administration was in the eye of a storm over the launch of the Sh50 billion Hustler Fund earlier this month.

Critics argued that the "free money" tag associated with the Hustler Fund during the pre-election campaign period had been dropped, converting the kitty from a grant to a loan.

During the launch of the Hustler Fund on December 1, Ruto said the Sh50 billion kitty, backed by three mobile phone service providers and financial institutions, will bring to an end the era of unscrupulous lending characterised by high-interest rates.

The Fund focuses on the youth and those in small businesses and seeks to improve financial access.

Critics were, however, quick to dismiss the initiative, saying it offered nothing new compared to other digital lenders in the market.

"We don't have a law passed by the House to anchor the Fund. A Sh50 billion Fund is being set up by the government by way of regulation, which is an affront to the role of Parliament. This is a charade and not what they promised the people of Kenya," said Mathare MP Anthony Oluoch.

The Fund would also run into legal headwinds after a lobby group - Linda Ugatuzi - sought court orders to halt further disbursement of the monies under the Financial Inclusion Fund.

The group argued that no board had been set up to manage the Fund and neither had the Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui appointed a Chief Executive Officer under regulation 14(1) nor approved the estimates of expenditure and revenue.

The group's case was premised on the opinion that funds would end up unaccounted for due to the lack of proper administrative mechanisms. The court did not grant the orders sought. The CS has since taken up the arduous task of championing borrowing from the Fund and timely repayment of loans.

As of December 20, the government had disbursed Sh9.58 billion in 19 days but only Sh2.64 billion had been repaid.

Then there was the Genetically Modified maize importation scandal that jolted the Kenya Kwanza ship, a month after President Ruto lifted a 10-year ban on GMO foods.

At the centre of the fiasco was Trade CS Moses Kuria who rubbed Kenyans the wrong way after he announced plans to import 10 million bags of GMO maize.

"We have so many things that can kill us in the country. Being in this country, you are a candidate for death," he said.

"And because so many things compete for death, there is nothing wrong with adding GMOs to that list. That is why we have deliberately allowed GMO until we are satisfied that we have enough maize, the staple food."

Then reports emerged that a ship loaded with tonnes of GMO maize had already docked at the Port of Mombasa even before a Gazette notice allowing the importation of the same was published.

Farmers decried the failure of the government to buy their produce at favorable prices before importing the GMO maize while MPs from maize-growing areas accused the government of hurriedly importing the produce without following due process.

The government would later bow to pressure and commence purchase of local produce to be later supplemented by the GMO.

Gender test

The composition of Ruto's government has also been under sharp focus; out of 22 CSs named in October, only seven are women and out of a consequent 51 Principal Secretaries only 11 are women.

Ruto has been accused of failing the gender test by groups that expressed their protestations through the courts.

The President's push to reintroduce the Cabinet Administrative Secretary (CAS) positions has also been halted by the courts.

It is, however, the spirited bid by the Kenya Kwanza administration to kick out four "dissenting" Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners after the August 9 General Election that has taken centre stage.

A tribunal is currently probing alleged misconduct of IEBC commissioners Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyang'aya, Francis Wanderi and Irene Masit who rejected the presidential elections results. However, Cherera, Nyang'aya and Wanderi have since resigned from office.

Petitioners Geoffrey Langat, the Republican Party, Rev David Ndumbi, and Steve Owour had filed petitions before the Parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for the removal of the commissioners. They claimed there was a nexus between the commissioners and the Azimio la Umoja one Kenya that fronted Raila Odinga as its flagbearer.

The last 100 days have been a tell-tale sign of the grueling task of leading the country that awaits President Ruto and a cautionary tale to his administration on how to politically navigate the next five years.