NAIROBI: Kenya’s police chief has quit following criticism over dozens of deaths during anti-government protests, the latest head to roll as President William Ruto struggles to contain the worst crisis of his near two-year rule.
Ruto has “accepted the resignation” of inspector general of police Japhet Koome, who has served in the role since November 2022, the presidency said, adding his deputy Douglas Kanja has been named acting chief.
The announcement came a day after Ruto sacked almost his entire cabinet in the face of widespread public anger at his government after largely peaceful demonstrations over proposed tax hikes descended into deadly mayhem.
The attorney-general and all cabinet ministers, with the exception of Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, were axed.
Some of the young Gen-Z Kenyans behind the demonstrations had called for Koome to go, with police accused by rights groups of using excessive force, and reports of abductions of some protesters.
IT specialist Cyrus Otieno, 27, said Koome “must be prosecuted for police brutality.”
“Someone must be held accountable.”
Ruto, who took office in September 2022, has taken a series of measures seeking to placate the demonstrators, including abandoning the finance bill that contained the deeply unpopular tax increases.
But the cabinet announcement, while welcomed by some, did not appease some young Kenyans frustrated with Ruto’s failure to deliver on his 2022 election promises to create jobs and boost their fortunes.
“We will be back on the streets until Ruto goes. He has wasted two years in office traveling and telling lies,” said Hyrence Mwangi, 25.
Initially peaceful, the protests sharply escalated when police fired at crowds who stormed parliament on June 25, ransacking the partly ablaze complex.
While large-scale street action has subsided, anger against the government has not, particularly toward the police, with rights groups saying that 39 people were killed in the demonstrations and more than 360 injured.
“When we first went to the streets, Ruto dismissed us as a bunch of hired goons and criminals, only to come later and start saying he will make changes,” said 27-year-old Jackson Rotich. “We can’t trust him.”
Law student Melisa Agufana, 24, welcomed the cabinet dismissal, saying she wanted to “thank the president for listening.”
She added that ministers had “wasted two years doing nothing apart from being driven around with our national flag.”
Analysts said the cabinet move offered the possibility of a fresh start, but warned of further risks.
“The challenge that Ruto now faces is forming a new cabinet that includes various vested interests, whilst simultaneously calming popular anger in the face of an explicitly leaderless movement,” Gabrielle Lynch, professor of comparative politics at the University of Warwick, told AFP.
Last week, Ruto announced sharp cuts to government spending, including travel and refurbishment costs, and said he would increase borrowing to pay for some services even as Kenya grapples with massive foreign debt of about $78 billion or about 70 percent of GDP.
The crisis led US-based Moody’s to downgrade Kenya’s debt rating further into junk territory, warning of a negative outlook, which will make borrowing even more expensive for the cash-strapped government.
Ruto said Thursday that he would “immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government,” without elaborating.
Media reports this week have been filled with speculation of a “national unity” government, possibly including the coalition headed by Raila Odinga, the veteran opposition leader defeated by Ruto in the 2022 vote.
Kenya police chief quits after deadly protests
https://arab.news/m5kak
Kenya police chief quits after deadly protests
- The announcement came a day after Ruto sacked almost his entire cabinet in the face of widespread public anger at his government
- The attorney-general and all cabinet ministers, with the exception of Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, were axed
Epstein scandal deals new blow to Norway crown princess
- Her name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents
- Mette-Marit had ceased contact with late US sex offender in 2014
OSLO: Norway’s crown princess, whose son goes on trial Tuesday on rape charges, found herself embroiled in another scandal this weekend after newly unsealed files revealed her unexpected friendship with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest scandal has even raised questions about whether Mette-Marit, a commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, could still become queen one day.
Her name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday, according to Norwegian daily VG.
Messages between the two published in Norwegian media date from 2011 to 2014.
In one email, Mette-Marit asked Epstein if it was “inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old son’s wallpaper.”
In another, she told him he was “very charming.”
When Epstein told her he was in Paris “on (a) wife hunt” in 2012, she replied saying the French capital is “good for adultery” and “Scandis (are) better wife material.”
Epstein had at that point already pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
The files show she also stayed at his house in Florida for four days in 2013.
On Saturday, Mette-Marit addressed her “embarrassing” friendship with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 by suicide in jail as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors.
“I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein. It is simply embarrassing,” she said in a statement sent to AFP by the royal palace.
The 52-year-old said she was responsible “for not having checked Epstein’s background more closely and not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was.”
Yet in 2011, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein that she had “googled” him, adding “it didn’t look too good” and ending the sentence with a smiling emoji.
She did not specify exactly what she was referring to.
According to the palace, Mette-Marit had ceased contact with Epstein in 2014 because she felt he was “trying to use his relationship with the crown princess as leverage with other people.”
- Terrible timing -
“It almost gives the impression that they were close friends,” historian and royal expert Ole-Jorgen Schulsrud-Hansen said.
He noted however the broader context of the messages was unknown.
“A crown princess is never a private person,” he noted.
“This shows in any case a lack of judgment and that all the ‘safety catches’ around her also failed.”
On Sunday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said he “agreed” that Mette-Marit had made an error in judgment.
“Can Mette-Marit become queen after this?” Kjetil Alstadheim, chief political editor of Norway’s paper of reference Aftenposten, asked in an op-ed piece, leaving the question unanswered.
The timing could not be worse for Mette-Marit.
On Tuesday, her 29-year-old son Marius Borg Hoiby, born from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, goes on trial at Oslo’s district court.
He is accused of allegedly committing 38 crimes, including the rape of four women as well as assault and drug offenses. He could face up to 16 years in jail if found guilty.
Hoiby denies the most serious charges.
The royal couple will not attend the seven-week trial, and Crown Prince Haakon told reporters that Mette-Marit would be away on a private trip during that period.
These woes come on top of her own health issues.
She suffers from an incurable lung illness, a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis that makes it difficult for her to breathe.
In December, the palace announced that she would likely have to undergo a lung transplant, a risky operation generally considered a last resort.
“She is someone who is under much pressure. But that should not stop any criticism, if it is factual,” said Schulsrud-Hansen.
