SA opposition leader Malema slams Ruto of unfulfilled promises

South African opposition leader Julius Malema has hit out at Kenya's President William Ruto for failing to deliver on the promises he made to Kenyans when he ran for office.

The fiery politician said the Kenyan president was no longer the same person who campaigned and urged Kenyans to trust him with their votes.

“I don’t know if President William Ruto means it because he said so many things and I cannot locate him these days because the things he said during elections and the things he is doing now are two different things,” said Malema.

Addressing hundreds of people at Lukenya University in Makueni County, Kenya during the launch of the Pan-African Institute, Malema castigated the president for failing to put his money where his mouth is and for trying to get rid of the US dollar as a means of trade in Africa.

“I don’t know, because I heard him saying we need to do away with the dollar and build our own but his actions are not speaking to anything of doing away with the dollar,” he said.

Malema, who is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Party, has castigated the president for failing to follow the “true cause of the African freedom fighters who were killed and tortured by the colonialists”.

He said it was wrong for the Kenyan Head of State to smile and shake hands with the United Kingdom’s King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to the country last week.

“The Kenyan army is a product of Mau Mau rebellion, and those who killed our people in the Mau Mau rebellion cannot be saluted by the same army of the children of those who were killed during Mau Mau rebellion. We have a duty to stay true to the cause.”

Malema said Africans have a duty to remind the King and Britain of what they did to Africans during the colonial era.

“Indeed, he showed no remorse. He said this was bad; it shouldn’t have happened, but he fell short of, I apologise. He will never say he is sorry because he thinks that his race makes him superior, and he is not qualified to apologise to those who are junior to him.”

Further, Malema asked Kenyan government to be firm, and decide what they want to do, either be Pan-Africanists or proponents of neo-colonialism.

Recently, the South African opposition leader asked his Kenyan counterpart Raila Odinga to retire from politics and allow fresh blood to dominate local politics.

This came after the Azimio La Umoja leader disputed the outcome of the last election, which saw President Ruto being announced the winner.

His sentiments come amidst outrage among Kenyans following the high cost of living as well as increase in fuel prices and other commodities, which President Ruto promised to lower drastically during the campaigns the moment he takes oath but remains mere promises.