Kenyan President Ruto announced in a televised address that he will sack almost his entire cabinet. Only Ruto himself, the deputy president, the prime minister and the foreign minister are allowed to remain in their posts.

The decision comes after weeks of protests against him and the East African nation’s government. Ruto said he made the decision “after carefully listening to the Kenyan people and a comprehensive assessment of my government, our achievements and challenges.”

He says he will form a new broad-based government that will focus on public debt, job creation, and dismantling state-owned enterprises with overlapping functions and widespread corruption in the country. Meanwhile, high Civil service employees assume the duties of dismissed ministers.

Ruto, elected in 2022, hopes the decision will appeal to the thousands of Kenyans who have taken to the streets in recent weeks in protest at proposed tax increases that would make everything from bread to sanitary towels more expensive.

Two weeks ago, protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament after a controversial tax bill was passed. Dozens died and a fire broke out. The next day, President Ruto decided to repeal the law. The protests have since dwindled, but they have continued to spread across the country.