President William Ruto has announced that 2026 will be a defining moment in Kenya’s history, putting forward an ambitious vision to guide the country from struggle to prosperity while reflecting on the challenges, sacrifices, and national tensions that characterized 2025.
“2026 will be a watershed year in the story of our Republic. A turning point in our march from promise to prosperity. A year that future generations will look back on and say; that is when Kenya changed course,” he declared.
In his New Year’s address to the nation in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, the head of state described the past year as one that tested the country but also brought out the best in its citizens.
“This has been a year that tested our resolve and our collective purpose, a year that demanded sacrifice and called for unity. As your President, I am proud to say that together, we rose to the occasion,” the President stated, adding that despite the strain, the country had begun to see the results of deliberate and sometimes difficult policy decisions.
According to President Ruto, 2025 marked the moment when Kenya stopped operating without focus and a proper plan, instead setting clear targets and moving towards long-term stability and growth.
“For the first time in a long while, Kenya is not guessing. We are not drifting. We are not gambling. We have set our targets. We have begun the journey. And we now have a clear roadmap to make 2026 a defining year in Kenya’s history,” he said, noting that the foundations laid in 2025 would make 2026 pivotal in the nation’s journey from promise to prosperity.
The President delivered a call to collective action, urging citizens to “walk together, as one people,” to complete a journey he said had been delayed for too long.
President Ruto highlighted several milestones achieved in 2025 under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, pointing to expanded access to healthcare, increased agricultural productivity, improved educational access, job creation, and progress in affordable housing.
“Today, more than 29 million Kenyans are registered under the Social Health Authority. Across the country, stories of care, relief, dignity, and support are being told, quietly and powerfully, by ordinary citizens whose lives have been transformed,” he said.
In agriculture, the President noted a significant rise in food production, with maize harvests projected to reach historic highs. Tea earnings surged, coffee prices nearly doubled, sugar production increased as imports declined, and exports in livestock, dairy, leather, and meat expanded steadily.
Education and employment also featured prominently:
“We expanded educational opportunities through reformed, merit-based systems. And we helped nearly a million Kenyans access jobs through housing, labour mobility, and the digital economy, with many more opportunities coming in 2026 and beyond,” he said.
On housing, President Ruto cited the story of Mama Jerusha Muthoni, who moved from a single crowded room into a modern, affordable home in 2025, as a symbol of restored dignity and opportunity for ordinary Kenyans.
“Kenyans like Mama Jerusha Muthoni, who had long lived in a single crowded room, finally gained dignity in 2025. She moved into a modern, affordable home with electricity, clean water, a proper toilet, and cooking gas, giving her children space to study and a secure, hopeful future,” said Ruto.
While outlining achievements, the President acknowledged that 2025 was not defined by success alone. He referred to the unrest witnessed in June and July, which resulted in loss of lives and destruction of property, calling it a painful reminder of the responsibilities that come with freedom and democracy.
“The regrettable loss of lives and destruction of property left a stain on our national conscience,” he said, urging leaders and citizens alike to choose unity over division and dialogue over destruction.
Reiterating national cohesion, President Ruto stated that Kenya is bigger than any individual, office, or ambition, and that leadership carries a heightened duty to protect the Republic.
President Ruto spoke candidly about Kenya’s current socio-economic realities, noting that nearly four in every ten Kenyans live below the poverty line, while millions of young people continue to struggle with unemployment despite policy interventions. This is the reality he said his administration is determined to change.
“We are committing ourselves to cut the number of Kenyans living below the poverty line by half, lifting millions into dignity and opportunity, and to cut unemployment by half, ensuring that millions of our citizens are productive, earning, and contributing. And we will do this without burdening taxpayers,” he declared.
Journey to the First World
Drawing inspiration from countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia, the President stated that Kenya had chosen a deliberate path of investment in industry, skills, exports, and infrastructure to grow its middle class and reduce poverty.
“History shows they transformed through deliberate investment in work, industry, exports, skills, and infrastructure, reducing poverty and growing middle classes. Kenya, despite challenges, chooses the same path, driven by ambition, determination, and sustained action to build a prosperous future,” he said.
President Ruto announced that 2026 would mark the full operationalization of the National Infrastructure Fund and the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which he described as key engines for aligning national resources with development priorities.
He also revealed plans to commence construction of the Naivasha–Narok–Bomet–Nyamira–Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway, creating a modern logistics corridor linking Kenya to East and Central Africa.
According to the President, these investments signal the moment when Kenya’s transformation into a first-world economy begins “in earnest,” stressing that the focus now must shift firmly to execution.
President Ruto dismissed the notion that national transformation requires miracles, insisting instead on vision, discipline, and deliberate leadership.
“Changing and transforming a country does not require a miracle. It requires a clear and bold vision, and leadership equal to that vision,” he said, expressing confidence that Kenya’s best years lie ahead if unity, focus, and accountability are sustained.
