NAIROBI, July 11 (Reuters):- Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday dismissed his entire cabinet apart from the foreign minister in the wake of nationwide anti-government protests.
The youth-led protests, sparked by planned tax hikes which Ruto was forced to abandon, have created the biggest crisis of his two-year presidency.
At least 39 people were killed in clashes with the police and some demonstrators briefly stormed parliament last month.
Ruto said in a televised address to the nation that he was also dismissing the East African country’s attorney general but that the office of the deputy president was not affected.
“I will immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations and other Kenyans, both in public and private, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government,” Ruto said in the address.
“During this process, the operations of government will continue uninterrupted under the guidance of principal secretaries and other relevant officials. I will be announcing additional measures and steps in due course.”
Last week Ruto proposed spending cuts and additional borrowing in roughly equal measure to fill the nearly $2.7 billion budget hole caused by the withdrawal of the tax hikes.
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Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo in Nairobi and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Bate Felix
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