President Ruto:

A recent BBC interview revealed William Ruto, the president of Kenya, declared that his government is willing to conduct business with Russia. "Our strategy to bring down the cost of living is predicated on empowering producers," he stated.

When questioned about whether he would be interested in Russian oil, Dr. Ruto responded that his government had the option of cooperating with Vladimir Putin's government for the benefit of Kenyans. He added that his goal is to guarantee that Kenyans enjoy cheaper fuel costs.

"All options are available to us as a country. East Africa would be a good option, but Kenya is what we are going to be focusing on, I am now going to move on to the agenda of making sure that we have government-to-government relationships that will progressively now begin the journey to bring the prices of fuel down," President Ruto stated.

The new container terminal at the Port of Mombasa. Image: KEVIN ODIT

Challenging Policies:

Rut had previously eliminated an oil subsidy, causing prices to soar.

The president said that cutting fuel subsidies was the right option because they were depleting government funds.

As he put it, "I had to abolish the subsidies because they were a major drain on resources that would be utilized for the development of the country and yet the prices were not coming down. It was also generally distorting prices of fuel throughout the country and causing unnecessary shortages.

However, if Kenya goes ahead and does business with Russia, it will undoubtedly come into conflict with the West, particularly the US government, which has slapped sanctions on Vladimir Putin's administration.

The Biden administration threatened to put sanctions on anybody who buy Russian oil earlier this month.

President Ruto promised during his campaign to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Image: Getty

Sanctions:

Could this be the beginning of a new dual economic system?

Any African state that conducts business with Russia will be closely monitored by the Joe Biden government and may be subject to penalties.

By leading other Western nations in removing Russian from the SWIFT system, the West may have forced Kenya to find another way to pay for the Russian oil.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Banking Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is the international financial network that enables quick and easy international money transfers.