PEOPLE

President William Ruto has recently announced that his government will take key strides to address the ever-rising cases of femicide that have been on the rise in the country. Speaking during the 73rd Anniversary of the African Divine Church in Nairobi, Ruto revealed that his government will do whatever it takes to help address the problem. The president further noted that he will see to it that the police are empowered with the necessary resources to aid their operational framework in addressing the cases. ”We have a criminal problem and we have a moral problem, we need to address both of them. As government I want to promise you that we will go out of our way to provide resources for our police to deal with this challenge.’’ Ruto addressed the matter after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja requested him to address the plight of the hundreds of women who have ended up victims of the vice, which has in the last three months alone claimed the lives of 97 women. ”Your Excellency you are here, the women of Nairobi are crying, the women of our country are crying, let us give them security, let us also look into the affairs of our police and surveillance operations.’ According to the Head of State, the rise in the cases of violence against women was particularly to blame on moral and criminal issues, which he stated had been overlooked in the recent past. ”It is hurting our girls, it is hurting our families, we will work together and we are going to have a comprehensive program on how we are going to address this in a wholesome manner, so that we can deal with the criminal issues and apply our moral minds on how to deal with this.’’ Ruto also called upon parents and Kenyans to come together and aid the authorities in combating violence that has left many with injuries and in extreme cases, some ending up dead. ”Equally, as parents, starting with myself, as parents, as Kenyans, we must also deal with the moral issue. Let us not just finger-point as to who should do what, we should also begin by saying as a citizen what will I do to stop the menace.’’  

Interesting data has recently revealed how Kenyan Head of State is one of the best-paid presidents in the world. As per theSalaries and Remuneration Commission, revision of salaries for state officers in June 2023, President Ruto’s monthly gross retainer soared from Ksh1,443,750 to Ksh1,650,000. These figures are far higher from how much heads of state from economic superpowers earn, they are still astronomically high considering Kenya’s per-capita GDP in 2023. Kenya’s GDP per capita last year stood at Ksh811,615. With this in mind, Ruto’s annual salary of Ksh 19,800,000 is the equivalent of almost 2,000% of his country’s per-capita GDP. Interestingly, the top five in the list of best-paid heads of state relative to their country’s economic prowess are dominated by African leaders. Tanzania and South Africa Presidents annual salaries also exceed the 1000% mark of their countries respective per-capita GDPs, sitting at 1087% and 1053% in third and fourth place respectively. Ghana’s Head of State Nana Akufo-Addo is fifth on the list, with his annual remuneration being 651% of his country’s GDP per capita.