NAIROBI, Kenya – President William Ruto on Thursday urged Kenyans to abandon what he termed a culture of “small thinking and ordinary expectations,” saying the nation must now embrace ambition and excellence to unlock its full potential.
In his State of the Nation Address delivered in Parliament, Ruto reflected on Kenya’s 62-year post-independence journey, describing it as one marked by “struggles, hardships, triumphs and milestones.”
He said the country had made “commendable progress” over the past three years but was still performing “below its true weight.”
“From this reflection came one truth: we have made commendable progress, but Kenya is still below its true weight,” he said. “We must cast off the prevailing mindset of being content with the average.”
The president said he was shifting from “a vision to sell” to “a story to tell,” signalling a turn from political messaging to what he described as tangible achievements and lessons from the country’s recent turbulence.
Ruto acknowledged that his first three years in office had been marked by political disagreements, compromises and economic shocks, saying the nation had endured “storms that none of us invited.” But he insisted the sacrifices had yielded a foundation for recovery.
“The last three years have not been easy. We have agreed and disagreed. We have compromised and endured storms… but we take comfort that it has not been for nothing,” he told lawmakers.
Painting a bleak picture of the economy he inherited in 2022, Ruto said Kenya was then grappling with soaring inflation, a rapidly weakening shilling and depleting foreign exchange reserves.
“In 2022, inflation had soared. The shilling was in free fall and foreign reserves had hit historic lows,” he said.
He credited his administration with taking “bold and sometimes difficult decisions,” including scrapping what he termed wasteful subsidies and tightening revenue collection systems. These measures, he said, were beginning to bear fruit.
According to the president, inflation has since declined to 4.2 percent, a development he cited as proof that “the tough choices are working.”
Ruto said he would soon announce what he described as a “realistic national project” designed to sustain economic momentum and chart Kenya’s long-term growth trajectory.
“Our ambition was held hostage by small thinking,” he said. “That era must be in the past.”
