Middle East & Africa | Snarling or smiling

Kenya’s president, William Ruto, shows two sides

He is making friends abroad and enemies at home

Kenyan President William Ruto
How to win friends and influence peopleImage: Getty Images
|NAIROBI

He is a master of inscrutability. While his face often wears a smile, a glance at William Ruto’s eyes suggests it is rarely a warm one. A year after he came to power, working out whether Kenya’s president is grinning or snarling depends on where one is standing.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Grin and bear it”

From the September 16th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Middle East & Africa

Ahmed al Sharaa

Ahmed al-Sharaa declares himself president of Syria

But he has given no details of what kind of state he wants to build

People displaced by the fighting with M23 rebels make their way to the center of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

The fall of Goma heralds more bloodshed in eastern Congo

Rwanda’s reckless invasion raises the risk of a wider war


Hamas fighters secure an area in a square before handing over four Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on January 25, 2025

Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos

Look beyond the latest bravado and brutality and it is bitterly split


Iran’s alarming nuclear dash will soon test Donald Trump

There is no plausible civilian use for the enhanced uranium Iran is producing

Rwanda’s reckless plan to redraw the map of Africa

The fall of Goma could trigger another Congo conflict