In the two years since he was elected, Kenya's President William Ruto has wowed global climate activists under the Eiffel Tower, brushed shoulders with global tech titans in Silicon Valley and was toasted as a global peacekeeper at the White House.
As he notched up dozens of foreign trips, however, citizens back home endured gruelling economic hardship.
Already hammered by a cost-of-living crisis and watching those in government enjoy the largesse derived from their positions, Kenyans forced Ruto to ditch plans to introduce eye-watering tax hikes after days of protests.
The U-turn has exposed the gulf between the image of Ruto as the jet-setting global voice not just of Kenya but the wider continent, and the grinding realities his nation faces - weighed down by debt, corruption and security threats.
It has left him severely weakened domestically with his administration divided in its response and his opponents rejuvenated, seeking to harness the wave of discontent ahead of elections in 2027, analysts and politicians said.
Reuters
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