NAIROBI, Kenya – President William Ruto has said his administration’s controversial economic measures were necessary to prevent Kenya from sliding into a historic debt default, insisting the country was in far worse financial shape than Kenyans were initially aware.
Speaking at State House on Tuesday during the presentation of the Jukwaa la Usalama report, Dr Ruto said he had been compelled to take “very difficult and sad decisions” shortly after assuming office to keep the country solvent.
The President said he owed Kenyans honesty about the state of the economy he inherited, describing the situation as a “deep financial hole” marked by soaring inflation, dwindling foreign reserves and a battered shilling.
“When I took over, inflation was at 9.6 per cent, the dollar was at 167, our foreign reserves had fallen to 5.7 billion dollars, and our debt situation was dire,” Ruto told the gathering of grassroots security leaders.
He recounted a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who questioned what Kenya would do if it reached the point of being unable to service its debts.
“I told him Kenya will not be defeated,” the President said. “We sat in my office and agreed we cannot be the country that goes to shame and defaults on its obligations.”
Unpopular decisions
Ruto said it was this fear of default that pushed him to remove key subsidies — including on fuel and maize flour — and delay payment of some public debts, measures that triggered public outrage at the time.
“I had to make very difficult decisions. Removing the subsidies was painful. Stopping some debt payments was painful. These were sad decisions, but they were necessary,” he said.
The President insisted the decisions were guided by responsibility, not politics.
“There is a job you gave me, and when someone is given work, they must do it. I take my job very seriously,” he said. “Sometimes it is good to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
Kenya avoided default
According to Ruto, Kenya narrowly escaped joining a list of six countries projected to default on their sovereign debts last year.
“Of those six, five defaulted — but Kenya did not,” he said, adding that the fiscal adjustments his government made shielded the country from a scenario he described as “a national embarrassment.”
Economy ‘on sound footing’
Ruto told the forum that the economy has begun to stabilise, crediting what he called the sacrifices made by Kenyans.
“Today, I can confidently say our economy is on a sound footing,” he said. “If I had not made those hard decisions, we would have been put to shame.”
The President also defended the Jukwaa la Usalama meetings, saying they were often mistaken for political rallies, yet their purpose was to provide space for citizens to raise real security concerns.
“Ordinarily these gatherings are for politics, but today we said we want Kenyans to come and speak to us on security issues,” he said. “Thank you for coming out and talking to us without barriers.”
