He has made dozens of trips abroad to strengthen his commitment to combating climate change while increasing taxes at home. He promised to send his country’s police to quell gang violence in Haiti, even though they are accused of brutality at home. And he recently hosted an eight-course state dinner for King Charles III amid skyrocketing food and fuel prices.

Just over a year after coming to power, Kenya’s President William Ruto is facing sharp criticism and growing public anger a hard-fought election. Rising discontent has rattled the East African country, a close Western ally that has long been an economic powerhouse and a pillar of stability in a turbulent region.

Mr Ruto, who grew up poor and went to school barefoot, championed a platform of improving the economy for the millions of aspiring Kenyans he called “Hustlers.” But now even some of his most ardent supporters say the president: a wealthy businessmanhas made life more burdensome by introducing higher taxes, eliminating fuel subsidies and increasing electricity prices.

“The president is a liar, a serial liar,” said Antony Ikonya Mwaniki, a former local official in Kiambu county, north of the capital Nairobi, where Mr. Ruto held his final campaign rally last year. Mr Mwaniki, who had worked closely with Mr Ruto and his allies, said he had apologized to voters he convinced to vote for Mr Ruto.

“I am a very disappointed person,” Mr Mwaniki said. “We all suffer.”

Mr Ruto initially scoffed at his critics, saying: he took office when Kenya’s economy was already burdened by it growing debts, high unemployment and a prolonged drought that caused crops to shrink. He accused President Uhuru Kenyatta’s previous government, in which he served as vice president, of making poor financial decisions and failing to curb corruption.

The president, whose office did not respond to multiple requests for comment, gave speeches saying the new measures were aimed at raising funds and limiting borrowing by a heavily indebted country. He said his government had taken measures to protect the public from rising costs by reducing fertilizer prices for farmers and supporting the dairy and fishing industries.

“We have had to make difficult and painful decisions because we owe it to Kenyans to do the right thing,” Ruto said said in November in his first State of the Union address. “The new direction may not be easy, but it is ethical, responsible, prudent and, above all, necessary.”

Mr Ruto’s plan to charge taxpayers 1.5 percent of their monthly income and an equal amount from employers to build affordable housing has been implemented declared unconstitutional from the Supreme Court on Tuesday. There was also a separate plan to promote universal health coverage exposed from the court on Monday.

The president’s critics say he spent his first year in office primarily trying to boost his global standing and reinvent himself as a pan-African leader.

He was the host Africa’s first climate summit in September and was named one of the world’s best 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders from Time magazine. In his speeches, he called for the international financial system to treat African countries more fairly. He tried to mediate between them the enemy generals in Sudan and find a solution The conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And he invited world leaders to Kenya, including Charles, who founded Kenya his first destination in Africa as king.

“Ruto is the blue-eyed boy who wants to be liked,” said Dr. Njoki Wamai, assistant professor of international relations at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi. “He is the braggart and has expanded his business internationally.”

But at home, activists and human rights groups condemned the plan, saying it violated Kenya’s constitution because it would expose officials to excessive danger, and was announced without wider public consultation or the explicit approval of government agencies responsible for national security.

Human rights activists also expressed concerns the behavior of the Kenyan policewho, according to Amnesty International, are accused of killing at least 107 people this year.

The Haiti plan, which was widely welcomed abroad, has become a political issue at home. During a heated debate in Parliament in November, one lawmaker, Rozaah Akinyi Buyu, said the Kenyan police deployed to Haiti were nothing but “sacrificial lambs.” Other parliamentarians argued that Kenya has an obligation to help a country whose population is part of the African diaspora.

“For us, Haiti is not an isolated country,” said Yusuf Hassan Abdi, another lawmaker. “Haitians are of African descent.”

Parliament approved the mission in mid-November. However, a judge temporarily blocked the operation in October and is expected to make a final ruling at the end of January.

As Mr Ruto tries to solve foreign problems, domestic challenges are mounting.

Annual average inflation rates have risen to 8 percent as fuel, transport and food prices rise. The Kenyan currency has lost about 25 percent of its value against the dollar over the past year. Has a new tax package sparked anger and protests. At least 70,000 jobs were lost in the private sector. And after a devastating drought heavy rains and floods are now causing chaos nationwide.

Esther Kwamboka is the kind of “hustler” Mr Ruto promised to help.

As a 39-year-old mother of four, she runs a small grocery store in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. She’s now working longer hours to make ends meet as the price of water, electricity, rent and her business license have doubled. With fewer customers and less income, she is worried about how she will pay her children’s school fees next year.

“If the president really cared about us, he would cut the cost of groceries and stores,” she said. “Otherwise people will soon start committing suicide.”

The rise in the cost of living is due to some of Mr Ruto’s close allies in his Cabinet be confronted with allegations from corruption. A recent parliamentary report states that there have been cases of corruption elevated by 64 percent between May 2022 and August 2023.

The president also received disapproval for his foreign trips. Since taking office last September, Mr Ruto has traveled to more than two dozen countries and hobnobbed with political leaders there Africa, Asia And Europeas well as in Silicon Valley, with business leaders like that Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The travel budget for the Office of the President elevated increased over 40 percent between July 2022 and June 2023, according to the Office of the Controller of Budget, an independent government agency.

Mr Ruto, 56, has defended his trips, saying he secured jobs and business for Kenya. But after a public outcry, he announced cuts to travel spending and the size of government delegations.

“If you look at the overall budget, travel is a small expense,” said Dr. Abraham Rugo, executive director of International Budget Partnership Kenya, a non-profit organization. But “at a time when you’re financially stressed, it becomes significant.”

For now, Kenyans are hoping that Mr Ruto will find a solution to their economic woes.

David Odongo, a motorcycle taxi driver, says he can’t afford enough maize meal for his family even after working 20-hour days. His three daughters and son often ask when he will buy them meat or their favorite fish. He doesn’t have the money to renew his motorcycle’s insurance, putting him at risk of being arrested.

“Life has become so hard and painful,” said Mr. Odongo, 29. “Every day the government finds a way to take more from us.”