Ruto apologises to Northern Kenya for marginalisation

President William Ruto during the 63rd Madaraka Day celebrations at Wajir Stadium. [PCS]

President William Ruto has apologised to the residents of Northern Kenya counties for marginalisation since independence. 

He said the government was committed to developing all parts of the country equally. 

Ruto, who was addressing thousands who turned up for the 63rd Madaraka Day Celebrations in Wajir Town, said that all Kenyans deserve to be treated equally.  

"As the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya, I apologise for the marginalisation of the Northern part of Kenya since it was never meant to be this way and should never be to any part of the country," said Ruto.  

The President said that was the reason why he signed a presidential proclamation in February 2025 to ensure that the residents of Northern Kenya are not discriminated against when seeking national identity cards.  

He said it was not fair for residents of the region to be treated as strangers and suspects in their country simply because of their ethnicity but they should be treated like residents of other counties.  

He said that was the reason why his administration has come up with plans to invest billions of shillings for infrastructural development in the Northern Kenya counties as an affirmative action.  

"The proclamation I signed does not mean that foreigners should get our National Identity Cards but it is to ensure that there is fairness to all citizens whenever they seek these crucial documents," said Ruto.  

The President said that his government was giving priority to the improvement of education standards in the country, with a priority on areas that have remained behind academically.  

Ruto said that the Education budget stands at over Sh700 billion this year, up from Sh500 billion in 2022, in efforts to ensure that Kenyan children get quality education.  

The President said that 4,616 students from Northern Kenya are currently in teacher training colleges to ensure that they are able to come back and teach in schools in their counties that are facing a serious deficit of teachers.  

Ruto said that the government has already built 23,000 more classrooms under his administration, while the government is supporting school feeding programmes for 2.4 million learners across the country.  

"I direct the Education Cabinet Secretary to take measures to engage with stakeholders to ensure that every child of Kenya has a clear pathway to education, which is an opportunity to open every door," said Ruto.  

The President said that out of the 31 million Kenyans registered for the Social Health Authority, 800,000 of them are from the three North Eastern counties.  

He said that the government is investing in ICT centres in order to ensure the future of the children of Kenya is not determined by their geographical location but by their talents.  

He said that Sh15.6 billion has been invested in 4,000 units of Affordable Housing and modern markets, classrooms and police housing across Wajir County to these investments turn around the region.  

"I would like to promise that under my watch, no area of the country will be marginalised like the Northern Part of the country has faced since independence," said Ruto.  

At the same function, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki thanked the President for taking the inclusivity and equality agenda of the country to the next level.  

Kindiki said the government's agenda to unite the country is ongoing, with all hurdles to discriminate against residents of Northern Kenya in pursuit of National Identity Cards having been done away with.  

The Deputy President said that Ruto had ensured that development projects across the country are equitably shared.  

" The government is doing several road projects and power plants in Northern Kenya to ensure that the region is on par with other areas of the country, " said Kindiki.  

The President said that livestock is a key economic activity in Northern Kenya, contributing more than 90 per cent of employment and 95 per cent of household income, with the distribution of 52,000 cows, goats, and sheep to residents of 16 Counties affected by drought.  

He said that 7,000 Agripreneurs have been engaged to carry out agricultural transformation activities across the country to improve Dairy and Beef exports, leading to higher incomes for pastoralist communities.  

He said that the government his establishing a Sh5 billion livestock investment programme across 21 arid counties to empower the pastoralist communities.  

"We are working towards turning Northern Kenya into the centre of a livestock products hub in the African region through leather products, which will be a key way of transforming the region into a prosperous area that creates jobs and opportunities for its young people," said Ruto.  

The President said that the region has a huge potential with a strategic location for energy, irrigation and livestock production. 

He said that the government has set an ambitious programme to build 50 mega dams and 1,000 small dams over the next five to seven years to ensure that arid lands are able to carry out irrigation activities to ensure sufficient food production.  

Ruto said his administration was working towards ensuring that no community was peripheral to our national story and no county is too remote to deserve development.  

"North Eastern is part of Kenya, and Kenya belongs to all of us. This is one of the most consequential Madaraka Days I have ever attended," said Ruto.  

The President accepted the request to name Wajir Stadium as the Ahmed Khalif Stadium in honour of the former Labour Minister who hailed from the region. 

Ruto supported plans to have the construction of the Wajir University in order to ensure that the area residents are able to access quality education near them. 

Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi termed the celebrations a remarkable journey in the history of the county.  

Abdullahi said that the region had been marginalised for a long time and that, currently, the area has achieved remarkable development since the inception of Devolution in 1963. 

The Governor said that President Ruto's agenda of ensuring that the marginalised regions of the country are on par with the developed regions should be lauded.  

"I would like to thank the government for the infrastructural development done in Wajir County in preparation for the marking of the 63rd Madaraka Day Celebrations, " said Abdullahi.  

The Governor requested the President to allow the naming of the 10,000-seater Wajir Stadium as the Ahmed Khalif Stadium in honour of the former Labour Minister in President Mwai Kibaki's government.