Kenya marked its 61st Independence Day on December 12, commemorating six decades since the end of colonial rule.
The country’s path to freedom was marked by protests, armed resistance, and negotiations, shaping a defining chapter in its history.
At independence, founding leader Mzee Jomo Kenyatta declared the nation’s mission to combat poverty, disease, and ignorance.
Since gaining independence, Kenya has emerged as a major player in East and Central Africa, boasting a population of 56.4 million and the region’s most developed economy.
Its strategic location provides access to vast markets within the East African Community and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa. Kenya’s strengths include a skilled workforce, a growing middle class, and policies conducive to investment.
Under Vision 2030, Kenya aims to become a middle-income, industrialized nation offering a high quality of life in a clean and secure environment. President William Ruto’sg administration is advancing this vision through the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), focusing on job creation, small business support, affordable housing, healthcare, and digital infrastructure.
Below is President William Ruto’s Independence Day Speech:
1. It is with immense pride that I join you in celebrating the 61st
anniversary of our nation’s birth. At this pivotal moment, we
reflect on the value of our sovereignty and celebrate the
enduring legacy of those whose patriotic efforts took down the
bastions of imperialism. Their sacrifice set our Republic on the
path of liberty, unity, peace, enterprise, and democracy.
2. Today, we affirm – by reflecting on what we have accomplished
since raising the flag of our nation – that by staying true to our
national identity, we have remained consistent through seasons
of abundance and scarcity. We assert our essential collective
character, defined by the values and principles that inspired our
forefathers to struggle and sacrifice, persist and persevere,
endeavour and endure until oppression gave way to freedom,
exclusion gave way to unity, and marginalisation gave way to
equality.
3. We remember that our nation was born from the painful
sacrifice and the tireless, often lonely, and gruelling efforts of
men and women driven by the conviction that their sweat, tears
and blood were a worthy price to pay for ushering millions of
their brothers and sisters from the dark, cold night of imperial
brutality into the warm daylight of freedom.
4. Before 1963, our people were compelled to work hard to enrich
colonial settlers. After 1963, our people laboured by choice to
provide for their families and build our nation. Before 1963,
education, health and personal security were privileges reserved
for the colonial elite. After 1963, they became the right of all
citizens. Before 1963, African people existed to be seen and not
to be heard. After 1963, we reclaimed our inalienable
sovereignty to its fullest extent.
5. The year 1963, therefore, marked Kenya’s profound moment of
historical change, yet it also represents an equally fundamental
moment of essential and defining continuity. Our circumstances
changed forever, and our horizon was illuminated by the forces
of possibility – the dawn of opportunity shining brightly. Yet our
values, hard work, unity, and determination remained constant.
We applied these same principles to building our nation after
liberation.
6. There is an important point worth emphasising: In our time, our
generation must never focus so much on the present that we
forget where we were only six decades ago. We must not ignore
the fact that our freedom, democracy, and development were
achieved through the contributions of millions of determined
patriots, nor should we underestimate the time and patience it
took for these small, progressive efforts to accumulate into an
unstoppable momentum towards freedom and nation-building.
7. It may have been easy to despise individual freedom fighters as
they ventured into a forest of uncertainty and to underestimate
their ambition to free Kenya from colonialism. Yet that is
precisely how we gained our independence. Courage and hard
work, determination and patience, and the confidence that we
are not alone are always what it takes to make meaningful
strides as a nation.
8. Today, I want to encourage my fellow citizens to keep this
perspective in mind. As we aspire for more and better, we must
not give way to despair, pessimism, or scepticism when faced
with challenges but instead forge our path forward with courage,
hope, determination, and ambition.
9. I declare my unwavering faith in the ability of our people to
interrogate policies and hold the government accountable. This
is the essence of democratic freedom – a civic duty for citizens,
a responsibility for leaders, and a necessary imperative for our
success and progress.
10. We have experienced a particularly challenging time as a people,
largely owing to dynamics beyond our control, resulting in a high
cost of living, greater difficulty in finding employment, and fewer
opportunities for entrepreneurs. Consequently, there was
widespread anxiety about the economic stability of our nation,
demanding urgent and appropriate interventions and effective
solutions.
11. The Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda was inspired
by our determination to confront these fundamental challenges
directly and with ambition. Our aim was, first, to lay the
foundation for robust economic activity to generate millions of
opportunities at the bottom of the economic ladder each year
and drive substantive, inclusive and sustainable growth. Our key
priorities were to reduce the cost of living, stimulate enterprise,
boost productivity, create jobs, foster a conducive environment
for institutional and infrastructural development, and promote
investments in manufacturing, industrialisation, and export
competitiveness.
12. As a starting point, it was critical for us to tighten our belts and
make significant sacrifices to reset our public finances on a
sustainable path, enabling intensified investments in the
strategic pillars of our plan and the cross-cutting enablers of
rapid transformation. I acknowledge the work we have done and
the milestones achieved in creating the necessary conditions for
progress in every value chain that supports the pillars of our
plan.
13. There is a time to resist and a time to accept; a time to deny and
a time to admit; a time to doubt and a time to believe. In the
face of undeniable evidence, scepticism must give way to
confidence, and we must reject the deceptive embrace of
disinformation and fake news. The results and positive impact of
our collective pursuit of fundamental economic change can no
longer be wished away.
14. Ladies and gentlemen, financial inclusion is now a reality for
millions of Kenyans. The Hustler Fund is marking its second
anniversary on a highly successful note, having empowered
Kenyans by lending a total of KSh60 billion so far, liberating
millions from predatory lenders and precarious financial
situations, enabling them to meet their needs, fund their hustles,
and build their credit scores.
15. Our ongoing conversation with borrowers focuses on concerns
related to the short borrowing duration, modest loan amounts,
and the time required to increase borrowing limits. In response
to this feedback, the Fund has designed a new product, the
Bridge Loan, to help Kenyans with good credit scores transition
from personal loans to enhanced facilities offering larger loan
amounts with longer repayment periods. This will enable
Kenyans to pursue bigger opportunities and better investments.
16. Ladies and gentlemen, not only have we registered successive
historic gains against the shame of hunger for 3 seasons, but we
are also firmly on the path towards surplus production. This
impressive rise in productivity has multiplied the incomes of
farmers in the maize, tea, sugar, coffee and dairy value chains.
17. There is no doubt that this agricultural transformation is the
direct result of our strategic decision to shift public resources
from consumption subsidies to supporting productivity. Food is
now more accessible to households than before and, as I stated
in the State of the Nation Address, our country now boasts
substantial national food stocks: 95 million 50kg bags of maize,
9 million bags of beans, 10 million bags of wheat, and 2 million
bags of rice. Step by step, we are building a food-secure Kenya
where every family can afford and access a meal.
18. Farmers have brought more land under cultivation and produced
much more per acre than before, thanks to the timely availability
of subsidised inputs and extension services. Agro-industries have
more raw materials, and value addition is on the rise. The agroindustrial sector is also creating more jobs each year as we gear up to compete in various export markets driven by expanding
intra-African trade, opportunities in the European Union and
United Kingdom markets, and our growing competitiveness in
global markets.
19. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation
Agenda prioritises digital transformation as a cornerstone of
inclusive economic growth. This is why we are undertaking an
ambitious expansion of our national digital infrastructure by
deploying a fibre optic network to connect over 74,000 public
institutions and establish 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots because
digital transformation is a critical enabler in creating
opportunities across all sectors. We intend to use this
infrastructure to extend Internet connectivity to 8.5 million
homes and businesses and eliminate the digital divide which
undermines technological inclusivity in homes, schools, villages
and counties.
20. I take this opportunity to affirm the significant progress already
made, which is accelerating due to the digitisation of
government services. Through the e-Citizen portal, we have
digitised 20,855 government services, streamlining public service
delivery, enhancing transparency and efficiency, eliminating
opportunities for corruption, and increasing the visibility and
mobilisation of public revenues. The transformative power of this
single initiative to improve citizen experience with public services
and enhance the government’s ability to manage public
resources effectively highlights the immense value of digital
transformation.
21. Additionally, our digital transformation strategy is making
significant contributions to skills development and job creation.
For example, Ajira Digital and Jitume Digital are advancing our
vision to equip 20 million citizens with ICT skills, fostering
entrepreneurship and enhancing inclusive digital literacy. In
other words, an additional 20 million Kenyans are being prepared
for high productivity in the digital economy. We have also
adopted the integration of creative industry courses into
technical and vocational colleges as a reliable mechanism to
build a skilled workforce.
22. These robust measures form the foundation of our strategy to
promote the emergence of a fully-fledged digital economy,
leveraging Kenya’s position as a regional hub for software
development and digital exports. These initiatives are supported
by key interventions, such as the establishment of institutional
and incentive frameworks to promote investments, foster
collaborations, and encourage the transfer of digital
technologies, with a particular focus on AI and blockchain.
Through these efforts, we are empowering local digital
innovators and tech entrepreneurs to drive economic
diversification and resilience.
23. Ladies and gentlemen, the discourse around universal healthcare
remains lively, with concerns being raised about eligibility for
coverage, the capability of the facilities to deliver services, and
the alignment of contributions with benefits.
24. Under Taifa Care, our inclusive, universal, efficient, and
transparent healthcare service model, we are implementing a
transition on an unprecedented scale. We have successfully
transitioned 5.6 million citizens from the National Health
Insurance Fund and registered 11 million Kenyans under the
Social Health Insurance Fund. This means that, in just two
months, 11 million Kenyans who previously lacked access to
healthcare services are now registered, with the registration
process going on full steam in every part of Kenya.
25. I commend Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Bomet, Embu, and Lamu, the five
leading counties so far in Taifa care registration. At the same
time, I encourage the people of Marsabit, Garissa, Mandera,
West Pokot, and Turkana counties to mobilise, register, and take
advantage of the benefits of this transformative programme.
26. Taifa Care ensures healthcare access for all registered citizens
without discrimination of any kind. The program has accurately
determined the cost of each healthcare service and product,
ring-fenced resources for equipment and facility improvements,
and leveraged digital technology to radically enhance the
management, coordination, and delivery of healthcare,
promoting efficiency, transparency, inclusivity, and
sustainability. No public service delivery project of this scale and
ambition has ever been undertaken in the history of our country.
We are confident that we will quickly surpass the 16.5 million citizens so far registered and provide all Kenyans with highquality healthcare that is efficient, effective, affordable and
sustainable.
27. Having said this, I wish to ask you this important question: Have
you registered? Those who have registered often find that many
of the issues, concerns, fears and questions are fully addressed
to their satisfaction. I therefore encourage every Kenyan to
register and enjoy the fundamental constitutional right to
healthcare.
28. Ladies and gentlemen, after two and a quarter years, the
decent, durable, dignified, and affordable houses we promised
Kenyans are finally here. Since September this year, 1,200
affordable housing units have been completed. Additionally, the
State Department of Housing has advertised 4,888 units
available for sale to the public through the Boma Yangu platform.
Our goal to increase the number of mortgages from 30,000 to
one million has now shifted gears. Our delivery pipeline for
affordable housing now has a total of 124,000 units at various
stages of development across Kenya, while a total of 840,000
planned projects over the next four years are projected to create
1 million jobs.
29. Ladies and gentlemen, despite the multiple challenges and crises
we have had to grapple with, we have succeeded in keeping our
commitments, taking steady steps towards our aspirations and
moving our nation closer to its destiny. Work is underway across
the country, and opportunities are opening up for many citizens,
especially the youth. Over the past 2 years, the number of
employment opportunities has increased with new jobs for
teachers, agriculture sector workers, healthcare professionals,
building and construction, seafarers and outside Kenya under
our labour mobility programme.
30. The affordable housing strategic pillar of the Bottom-Up
Economic Transformation Agenda has so far created 200,000
jobs and thousands of indirect opportunities across the building
and construction value chain. The universal healthcare coverage pillar has engaged 107,000 community health promoters, alongside other healthcare professionals employed to support
our vision of a functional national healthcare system. In addition,
jobs will be created in healthcare innovation, service delivery,
and ICT support for the digital health system, unlocking
opportunities nationwide. Furthermore, we have recruited
56,000 teachers to address the chronic teacher shortage and
moved the national teacher-to-student ratio closer to the United
Nations recommendation of 1 teacher for every 40 learners. This
December, we are hiring an additional 20,000 teachers, while
our rejuvenated micro, small, and medium enterprises have
created 840,000 jobs this year.
31. To address the urgent need to create opportunities for the
hundreds of thousands of young men and women entering the
labour market annually, we have expanded the employment
opportunity spectrum and implemented strategies to secure jobs
abroad to facilitate mobility and placement of suitably qualified
Kenyans. Since September 2022, more than 243,000 Kenyans
have secured international job opportunities in the healthcare,
agriculture, and construction sectors, among others, and in the
last two months alone, 12,000 have secured jobs abroad. So far,
we have completed bilateral labour frameworks with seven
countries, while agreements with two more countries are
awaiting signature. Additionally, agreements with 13 other
countries are at various stages of negotiations, and we project
to connect up to 2 million Kenyans with jobs abroad once
completed.
32. Our Digital Superhighway and creative economy programme,
which involves laying 100,000 km of last-mile fibre-optic
infrastructure and establishing digital hubs nationwide, is
designed to create digital jobs at the grassroots. To date,
690,000 citizens have been trained in digital skills through the
Ajira and Jitume programmes in various learning institutions, TVETs, and Constituency Innovation Hubs, out of which 180,000 youth have already been linked to online job opportunities, well
on track to creating one million jobs through this programme.
33. Our Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones are
boosting investment, manufacturing, and exports, creating jobs
and increasing national wealth. In the past two years, we have
licensed over 80 companies within these zones, creating 14,000
jobs. The six Export Processing Zones flagship projects in Busia,
Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Eldoret, Kwale, and Nakuru, now being
developed, are set to generate 30,000 more jobs. Additionally,
the ongoing operationalisation of Dongo Kundu and Naivasha
special economic zones will create 26,000 jobs, facilitating
private special economic zone investments and supporting
county and public special economic zone operations.
34. At the same time, our youth are actively contributing to climate
action, urban neighbourhood improvement, and landscape
restoration through the Kenya Urban Resilience or ClimateWorX
program. Recognising the urgency, scale, and importance of
these efforts, ClimateWorX is designed to be ambitious. So far,
21,560 Kenyans have been engaged in Nairobi, with nearly half
– 48% – being women, reflecting a strong commitment to gender
parity. The programme will soon be expanded nationwide to
engage 200,000 young men and women in critical infrastructure
and environmental projects within our towns and communities.
This initiative not only offers opportunities but also empowers
youth to strengthen the foundations of urban living and tackle
climate change.
35. We are also investing in local content creation to enhance the
quality and competitiveness of Kenyan creative products for
export while facilitating the development of digital platforms to
distribute Kenyan creativity to global audiences. I am confident that we are firmly on course to transform opportunities for our creative industry.
36. I salute the actors in our creative spaces whose work brings life
to our cities, streets and screens, yet their achievements are
overshadowed by injustice. Musicians, who are the heartbeat
and soul of our culture, have long been denied their rightful
earnings. It is unacceptable that an artist earns as little as 10,000
shillings a year while those tasked with collecting their royalties
pocket millions monthly. This injustice must end. The Kenya Copyright Board, in conjunction with industry players and ECitizen, must establish a transparent, real-time system for
royalty collection and distribution to rightful owners and
beneficiaries.
37. As we champion this cause, Kenya is also preparing for global
leadership by bidding to host the 2026 World Creative Economy
Conference, signalling our commitment to celebrate our talent
and showcase our vibrant culture to the world. Hosting this
conference will be a bold declaration of Kenya’s leadership in the
creative economy.
38. Our committed interventions are creating jobs and opportunities,
and this is only the beginning. We are building on the foundation
we have laid to create more jobs going forward. The essence of
the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is to enhance
our capacity for incremental achievement and thus accelerate
our progress in delivering our commitments for the benefit of all
Kenyans.
39. What I wish to emphasise on this Jamhuri Day is that regardless
of how difficult circumstances get, and despite obstacles,
resistance and anxiety, it remains the mandate of leadership to
keep true to their word and the duty of government to deliver.
We have every intention of fulfilling our commitments and are at the point where the first projects are successfully entering maturity.
40. The deliberate and intentional effort to develop effective
strategies for creating employment opportunities within our
broader economic transformation agenda is bearing fruit. From
the current numbers, it is clear that employment opportunities,
whether domestic, international, or online, will increase
significantly in the coming days. We are determined to build a
labour market capable of absorbing as many job seekers as
possible, cognisant of the output of our education and training
institutions, which produce talented, skilled, and motivated
young people. By doing the hard work and heavy lifting now, we
are laying the foundation for citizens to seize opportunities in the
future.
41. As we do this, let us reflect on the lessons of history and rise
above our political differences to deliver for Kenya. Those who
came before us overcame far more turbulent divisions to score
a historic victory whose everlasting legacy benefits us today and
will endure for posterity. As they fought hard to reclaim our
sovereignty, the enemies of our freedom deployed state-of-theart technologies of the time, the radio and the airplane, to
disseminate disinformation and propaganda. This was meant to
discourage, trick and deceive people that freedom fighters had
been defeated and that their leaders had been captured and
neutralised. Our heroes and heroines were not deterred and,
inspired by the righteousness of their cause and the
transformational moment they were in, soldiered on
courageously. On 12th December, therefore, every Kenyan
witnessed their vindication as our majestic flag rose and,
collectively, we reclaimed our proud Jamhuri. Jamhuri Day is also
a moment for Kenyans to expose the fake news aimed at
discrediting our ambition, sabotaging our hope and seeking to
dampen our resolve.
42. I have no doubt that the national economic transformation
agenda will succeed and deliver for the people of Kenya. I have
no problem with discourse, criticism and alternative proposals.
In fact, I welcome them and listen to feedback in order to learn,
improve and become better. At the same time, I see clearly that
a lot of what passes for facts are falsehoods and that most
opposition is based on inaccurate representations and outright
disinformation. We are at the stage in social development when
digital technologies have immense capacity to amplify
disinformation, magnify fake news and distort facts beyond all
recognition. If we give in to these emerging negative trends, we
shall pay with our freedom, democracy and development.
43. I therefore urge all Kenyans to participate fully in our democratic
discourse, even as we work hard in nation-building. At all times,
let us endeavour to engage on the basis of truth. Failure to do
so will take us down the path of negativity, tear us away from
the values we cherish and turn us into a people estranged from
unity who sabotage development, undermine democracy and
destroy our Republic in the pursuit of political expediency.
44. When we say that the cost of basic food commodities has come
down, it is a fact. When we say that inflation has gone down, it
is a fact. When we say that our farmers are producing more and
better, it is a fact, and when we say that Kenyans who have
registered for Taifa Care are receiving better services than
before, it is a fact. We encourage everyone, including our critics,
to engage on the basis of facts and the truth. If some of us
persist in the culture of reckless negativity, for how long will
cynics mobilise Kenyans to deny facts that they can touch, feel
and see? What will they say in a few weeks’ time when we begin
to give keys to the new owners of affordable housing units? What
will they say of the thousands of plumbers, electricians, teachers,
health workers, building and construction workers, digital
workers and many more who are already at work, including the
300 young men and women who were flagged off by my deputy
yesterday to work abroad?
45. I am confident in the future of our nation and the capacity of our
national transformation agenda to deliver because I appreciate
the strategies we have put in place, the work underway and the
people’s motivation to make their contribution. I count myself as
one of many millions of Kenyans who want the best for our
nation and all its people and are committed to putting in the
effort required to make our dreams come true. We are driven by
strong hope and unwavering optimism, as well as an unfailing
desire to reach for a better tomorrow. It is confidence based on
understanding, hope built on truth and optimism that stands on
facts.
46. We must do all we can to maintain the essential character of our
Republic as an open and free democratic society. This implies
that we must also do all we can to ensure that our political
competition and rivalry never degenerate into a contest to
assault democracy, oppose development and demoralise the
people. We must remember that whatever else sets us apart, we
are united by a desire to achieve the best for Kenya and its
people. With this in mind, we must promote inclusion and
broaden our platform for collective engagement to allow
articulation of diverse viewpoints and the expression of fresh,
new and bold approaches. To be transformational, we must be
ready to transform ourselves and our strategies on a continuous
basis.
47. I will continue to reach out to Kenyans of all walks of life,
regardless of their ideological persuasion, to maximise the crosspollination of the flower of our Republic and guarantee robust seeds for future seasons. You must never underestimate your
power as citizens and your ability to create positive change
individually and all of us collectively. Over time, we have made
gradual and steady changes to many of the economic
development strategies in order to take on board feedback from
the people. In fact, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation
Agenda has in-built mechanisms to improve on the basis of this
feedback because we recognise that, as leaders, every day of
work is a day of learning from the people and that every good
idea must always give way to a better one. Listening, therefore,
is a primary component of effective leadership, and national
transformation is a collective enterprise of all citizens.
48. I am grateful to distinguished patriots who have demonstrated
outstanding leadership across the political aisle for the spirit of
goodwill in which we have engaged to address critical national
issues, including resolving the inclusivity challenge by
formulating a broad-based government. I also appreciate the
good wishes, encouragement and support from leaders with
whom I continue to discuss matters of importance to our nation.
I am persuaded that together, we can achieve much more and
much sooner for Kenya and that the future of our dreams is now
within sight.
49. I readily concede that we are yet to reach the destination of our
aspirations because we have not yet delivered fully on all our
commitments. Having said that, it is also a fact that we are no
longer where we were a year, let alone 2 years ago. We have
moved beyond pledges and commitments and are now making
progress with our implementation strategies.
There is now sufficient evidence of an undeniable character that
together, the people of Kenya are hard at work to achieve their
shared vision of a nation transformed.
50. Our ability to feed the people and keep them healthy, to
empower them and connect them with opportunities, to keep
them safe and protect their freedom, is improving by leaps and
bounds. When we all unite, inspired by a shared aspiration, to
undertake nation-building, we shall make our nation great, and
our collective legacy will inspire present and future generations.
Thank you,
God bless you,
God bless Kenya!
