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When President William Ruto took power, he quickly thrust himself onto the global stage as a champion of reforms of the global financial architecture to address what he described as destabilising debt and climate vulnerabilities in Africa.

Ruto also projected himself as Africa’s key crusader on issues touching on climate change and successfully hosted the maiden Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, to much acclaim.

On access to affordable credit, he rightfully argued that countries on the continent were struggling with high financing interest rates, while dealing with climate shocks and constrained government revenues. Ruto raised concerns that African countries struggle to invest in low-carbon and climate-resilient development.

He called for better, more responsive, and a fairer international development financial architecture. Exploiting his dalliance with former US ambassador Meg Whitman, Ruto secured a state visit to the White House but the deadly crackdown on young Kenyans demanding better governance irredeemably ruined his reputation locally and on the global stage. The exit of the Biden administration presents a different nightmare for Kenya Kwanza.

On New Year’s Eve, Ruto received an ignominious record-breaking nomination for this year’s Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) ‘Corrupt Person of the Year’ title.

An unrivalled 40,000 wrote to the OCCRP nominating him for the “Person of the Year” award in organised crime and corruption, a move that highlights the extent of the discontent Kenyans have in the head of State.

“Ruto’s government has faced accusations of greed and corruption, with policies that have fuelled economic instability,” said the watchdog.

The OCCRP is one of the largest investigative journalism organisations in the world.

At home, the President seems to have lost the confidence of Kenyans who blame him for the wave of abductions of young people, a wobbling healthcare system, a failed university funding model, police brutality, over-taxation and the high cost of living.

That is why we found his New Year speech on Tuesday night a half-hearted admission of mistakes but a latent rationalisation of police brutality disguised as protection of personal freedoms.

And it doesn’t seem to matter to him that many Kenyans don’t associate him with the truth.