What Kenyans want from Ruto's second State of Nation address

On Thursday, President William Ruto will hold his second State of the Nation address, coming at a time Kenyans have persistently raised their disappointment with the running his administration.

For the better part of the year, Kenyans have been calling the government to order, amid heavy backlash over the economy.

In June, Gen Z led Kenyans in registering their disapproval about the direction the country was headed, coming in the wake of the government’s push to enact Finance Bill 2024. They staged protests for several weeks.

In the end, Ruto declined to sign the contentious Finance Bill, but there is now growing concern that it is being re-introduced through a constant stream of new taxes.

The church has also joined in the debate and demanded better governance, calling for restoration of hope amid deepening political, social and economic challenges.

Discontent has revolved around decisions made in major sectors including health, education, security and the status of economy.

Religious leaders and human rights groups accuse the Ruto government of what they describe as renegading on its promises on abductions, disappearances and femicide, that no more such cases would be reported under this administration.

For instance, the Catholic bishops said last week the rising cases of abductions, disappearances, violence, including recent brutal treatment of demonstrators, especially young people, is alarming and should be addressed.

“The bishops call on the government to safeguard human life, uphold justice, and ensure that law enforcement respects human rights,” the bishops said.

They continued: “Who is abducting these people, and is the government unable to stop these abductions and killings? The government must protect the life of every human person in Kenya. It must uphold the law, which its leaders swore to protect.”

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) also noted that despite an abundance of evidence captured about abductions including vehicle number plates, video and photographs, the National Police Service has not made any formal statement on these incidences and no prosecutions yet.

The commission noted unprecedented surge in femicide cases, with 97 of them having been reported in August-November, according to NPS statistics.

“What is more troubling is the brutality in which these femicide are carried out. A case in point was the discovery of about 10 decomposing bodies, all women, from Kware dumpsite in Mukuru area of Nairobi,” KNCHR said.

This came as Ruto addressed a press conference in State House Wednesday, where he stated that women leaders have agreed to embark on a nationwide awareness campaign to confront this vice.

Ruto, who was flanked by women leaders, said the campaign will have support of government, and Sh100 million has been committed for the Safe Homes, Safe Spaces campaign, as 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence approaches.

“We know every 4 out of 5 women killed is out of intimate partner violence, which means our women are being killed in places they consider safe. I send my condolences, and those of the leaders gathered here to those who are in pain today. I urge every Kenyan to join this movement, to speak out, to educate and to stand united against femicide,” he said.

Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA-K) had last month urged the President to declare femicide a national crisis and disaster.

Similarly, while Ruto continually affirms that the government will review the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to resolve problematic issues raised, especially those revolving Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), Kenyans are still not convinced.

In most of the forums Ruto has attended, he has insisted that SHIF is critical to providing Kenyans with accessible healthcare and the government will continue improving the model.

“I want to assure Kenyans and the bishops that we will rectify the issues they have pointed out because UHC will make sure no citizen is left behind,” he said in Embu.

But with the roll out, thousands of patients have been complaining that the system is not working and these failures have caused havoc, in addition to Kenyans questioning the high deductions they are now subjected to.

Patients have complained of delays in registering patients and processing claims, which has not only caused disruptions but also stressed patients in both public and private hospitals across the country.

Some Kenyans are being turned away when they fail to pay cash for medical services, saying they cannot afford the out-of-pocket charges.

And as health facilities complains of debts owed to them, Ruto has assured that Sh2.5 billion will be disbursed next week to pay debts owed to hospitals and service providers by defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Further, acting Social Health Authority (SHA) CEO Elijah Wachira has been sent on 90-day compulsory leave to allow for investigations into his professional conduct and performance in the role. 

Another issue Kenyans have raised is the current tax policy, saying it is overly burdensome, placing undue strain on them, yet they are already struggling with economic hardships.

Even as they call on fiscal responsibility and efficient use of collected taxes, Kenyans say they are yet to feel the impact of government’s insistence that it has stabilised the economy.

Again, despite heightened reports of massive layoffs due to high cost of doing business locally, the government insists at least 100,000 Kenyans have secured jobs abroad.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has also said there has been improved status of the economy and that inflation has steadily dropped.

“Global economy is growing at 3 per cent. Kenyan economy grew 5.6 per cent last year, then 5 per cent this year,” Mbadi said during a session with the National Assembly Finance Committee.

But as the government says prices of commodities have gone down and economy has stabilised, disillusioned Kenyans say they do not have money in their pockets.

In other areas, President Ruto has said he is building on his predecessor’s legacies in education.

On Competency Based Curriculum, he said the government has finalised buying learning materials in readiness for transition to Grade 9 in January but Kenyans are apprehensive on the status of classrooms’ construction and what awaits learners.

Even more worrying to Kenyans is the university financing model, which has led to endless complaints on classification of learners, with a majority saying they do not fit in categories they have been placed.

Then there are the never-ending lecturers' strikes and on this round, it is on its third week.

Students are distressed that aside from having no money in their pockets to spend, they are also not learning and graduation ceremonies are at stake owing to the strikes.

Additionally, the status of public universities has been a concern, with reports of huge debt burden putting some at stake.

A case in point is Moi University, which has been riddled with claims of bad governance, recklessness in resource management and theft claims.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission summoned Moi University Vice-Chancellor Prof Isaac Kosgey on Wednesday to respond to queries on the alleged embezzlement of Sh2.2 billion.

EACC is seeking answers over his alleged involvement.