In the race for next August’s presidential election in Kenya, the two candidates William Ruto and Raila Odinga are waging a tight, no-holds-barred campaign. Personal attacks have now become part of the daily political debate and William Ruto’s supporters have over the past week accused the president and his family of amassing a huge economic fortune during Uhuru Kenyatta’s two presidential terms.
Ruto’s supporters have not forgiven the president – once an ally of their candidate – for changing his political stance and now openly siding with Odinga, accusing him of corruption and inability to manage public resources.
To fuel the discontent and protest has also contributed the serious crisis that has hit the energy sector, especially fuel refining, now scarce both in service stations and in power plants.
The fuel shortage in recent weeks, unprecedented in the history of the country, has caused a sharp reduction in the distribution of food and goods and now threatens to paralyze the entire production chain in Kenya.
Andrew Kamau, the principal secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines, attributed the crisis to the government’s delay in paying 13 billion shillings (about $112.95 million) in subsidy funds to oil traders.
