President William Ruto (standing), Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin (left), and Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi (right) at State House on July 16, 2024. Photo: PCS

Embattled Kenyan President William Ruto has met with his first high-level foreign visitor since the onset of intense protests against his government weeks ago.

Ruto hosted the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, who was in Nairobi on Tuesday as part of his Horn of Africa tour.

In recent weeks, Ruto has been addressing growing cost-of-living protests triggered by an unpopular and controversial tax bill.

In response to the protests, which resulted in at least 39 fatalities, Ruto repealed the bill and dismissed his entire cabinet, sparing only his top diplomat, Musalia Mudavadi, who was also present during the meeting.

KFP has reliably learned that Minister Martin raised human rights concerns with President Ruto and emphasized the importance of dialogue and partnership.

The Irish minister also announced the launch of a €15 million, three-year initiative aimed at combating child hunger in the cross-border Mandera Triangle region of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

This initiative is being led by Concern Worldwide in cooperation with a consortium of NGOs in the region, along with local and national authorities.

Speaking after the meeting, the Tánaiste said, “Ireland is proud of its long history of partnership with Kenya in a wide range of areas, from education to climate action, agricultural innovation, and sustainable development.

“Ireland deeply values Kenya’s leadership on critical issues of peace and security, including its championing of multilateral efforts to resolve ongoing conflicts and crises in the region.”

More broadly, the Tánaiste’s trip to the Horn of Africa will focus on the impact of Ireland’s development assistance program and growing trade links with Kenya and Ethiopia.