- Opposition party calls on the UN and U.S. to deny President Ruto platform at 80th General Assembly.
- Accuses government of human rights violations during last year’s Gen Z protests.
- Cites U.S. Human Rights Report highlighting unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and impunity.
- Warns that allowing Ruto to speak would “legitimise dictatorship” and betray victims of state brutality.
The Democratic Citizens Party (DCP) has escalated its campaign against President William Ruto, petitioning the United Nations (UN) and its member states to bar him from addressing the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next month.
At a press briefing on Monday, August 18, 2025, DCP Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala urged the United States, as host nation, to declare Ruto persona non grata, citing international precedents where leaders accused of rights abuses are excluded from global forums.
“We strongly call on the United States of America, as the host country, to consider declaring him persona non grata. We further call on the UN General Assembly to review his eligibility to speak on matters of peace and human rights,” Malala said.
DCP argued that permitting Ruto to address the UNGA convening under the theme “Better Together: 80 Years and More Peace, Development and Human Rights” would contradict the UN’s values.
Malala accused Ruto’s administration of state-sponsored brutality, unlawful detentions, enforced disappearances, and suppression of dissent. He noted that young Kenyans protesting peacefully were met with “live bullets and unlawful detentions,” leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured.
“Extending a platform to Ruto would legitimise dictatorship, embolden authoritarianism, and betray the youth, women, and ordinary citizens whose only act was demanding justice and accountability,” he said.
The petition follows the release of the U.S. State Department’s annual Human Rights Report on August 14, which sharply criticised Kenya’s record during last year’s Gen Z protests.
The report cited unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and restrictions on press freedom. It documented at least 60 protest-related deaths reported by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and 50 more recorded by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
Washington accused Kenyan authorities of protecting abusive officers through disciplinary transfers rather than prosecutions, concluding that “impunity remains a serious problem at all levels of government.”
The DCP urged global civil society and partner nations to boycott any international platform extended to Ruto, warning that history would condemn those who legitimise authoritarian leaders under the cover of diplomacy.
“Doing so would amount to legitimising dictatorship and tyranny,” Malala declared. “We therefore join the people of Kenya in urging the UN not to grant him the honour of addressing the upcoming convention.”
President Ruto is scheduled to travel to New York in September to deliver Kenya’s national address at the UNGA.
