Kenyan President Fires Entire Cabinet

Kenyan President William Ruto fired his entire Cabinet apart from the foreign minister, bowing to pressure from nationwide protests that have created the biggest crisis of his two-year presidency.

The youth-led protests against planned tax hikes started off peacefully but turned violent, killing at least 39 people in clashes with the police last month. Some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament, before Ruto abandoned the new taxes.

"I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations and other Kenyans, both in public and private, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government," Ruto said in a televised address to the nation, adding that he would announce additional measures later.

He also dismissed the attorney general but said the office of the deputy president was not affected.

Ruto has been caught between the demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut deficits and a hard-pressed population reeling from rising cost of living.

Last week he proposed spending cuts and additional borrowing in roughly equal measure to fill the nearly $2.7 billion budget hole caused by the withdrawal of the tax hikes.

Analysts have said the tax rollback means Kenya is likely to miss IMF targets although the government does not have debts that are due.

The budget deficit is now projected at 4.6 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that started on Jul 1.

Protests against the tax hike began in June and widened into a broader campaign against Ruto and his government, with some demonstrations descending into violence that has left dozens dead.

Last week, the Kenyan leader announced sharp cuts to government spending in response to growing anger over his cabinet’s travel and renovation budgets while ordinary citizens struggled to cope with a cost-of-living crisis.