Verdict: The irony of Ruto criticising 'drunkards' but not listening to the sober

Although drinkers and drunkards constitute a critical voting bloc, President William Ruto recently challenged former President Uhuru Kenyatta to seek opinions on the next election from sober Kenyans.

The president appears to be living in a bubble, consumed by his own yardstick of success and distant from the suffering Kenyans face as key sectors crumble under the weight of bad policies, endless politics, inaction and populism.

The president and his allies believe they are on the right track and are unafraid to spend billions of taxpayers’ money to demonstrate in rallies that he has established a faultless administrative machinery that has transformed the country.

To his camp, he is right, focused and the most efficient president in recent times. He is quick to declare critics drunk for not seeing through his lenses, and others for allegedly collecting anti-government rhetoric in drinking joints. In some places, his supporters do not shy away from threatening violence against those who do not buy the president’s re-election agenda.

On November 11, former President Uhuru Kenyatta claimed his interactions with ordinary Kenyans had convinced him that the public wanted a change of political direction.

President William Ruto at the 4th edition of the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival on November 14, 2026. [PCS]

Ruto responded later the same day during a rally in Kisii, questioning the credibility of Uhuru’s assessment and suggesting that he was relying on opinions gathered in drinking establishments rather than from working Kenyans. 

The President challenged his predecessor to seek opinions from the sober, including farmers, teachers, doctors and business people, arguing that they would give him a more accurate account of his administration’s achievements.

However, this same group, along with the latest opinion polls, shows a president drunk with power and inebriated in his handling of the economy as he rolls out an expensive campaign schedule disguised as empowerment visits across the country.

In a week when the president spent much of his time asking Gusii residents and the rest of Kenyans to hand him another term, he painted a rosy picture of an administration with thriving sectors, devoid of flaws but awaiting even greater transformation.

But as he presents a picture of a successful regime through words, roadside declarations and chest-thumping, a thunderstorm of problems is brewing among the so-called sober Kenyans as key sectors struggle, pain at the pump bites, insecurity soars and the economy crawls.

For a man who has thrown all his weight into endless rallies complete with elaborate political mobilisation by his allies, sobriety has taken a back seat as political expediency, wasteful spending and an avalanche of insults take the front row.

From patients struggling to access healthcare despite the introduction of the Social Health Authority (SHA), to university students losing nearly a month of learning during a workers’ strike, frustrations are increasingly extending beyond political rallies.

On Friday, more sober Kenyans lost their lives after a building collapsed in Nairobi, barely weeks after another collapse in Eastleigh, as the government’s hands-off approach to protecting Kenyans continues. Innocent and sober lives are being snuffed out because someone failed to do their job or looked the other way as rogue contractors piled floor upon floor.

For medics and patients, the country’s performance cannot be assessed without considering the everyday experiences of citizens seeking basic services.

Patients say the healthcare reforms introduced by the government have yet to deliver the promised relief, with some still encountering financial and administrative difficulties when seeking treatment.

President William Ruto at the 4th edition of the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival on November 14, 2026. [PCS]

The transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to SHA was presented as a major step towards universal healthcare. However, questions persist over access, coverage, hospital reimbursements and the financial burden on patients.

Mary Odhiambo’s experience in Kakamega illustrates some of these challenges. During a hospital visit in October, she was asked to pay for certain services, raising questions about the extent to which the new scheme is shielding ordinary patients from medical expenses.

“Yes, we have been told to be sober, but the reality on the ground is different. I have been a victim of a not fully functional medical scheme that was promised by the Head of State. SHA is not working and we must speak out,” said Odhiambo.

Her experience comes amid growing concerns over the implementation of SHA, including reports of patients being forced to buy prescribed medicines from private pharmacies after visiting public facilities.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), another group of sober Kenyans, has also demanded payment of outstanding debts owed to faith-based hospitals by SHA, warning that delayed reimbursements are affecting their ability to buy medicines, pay staff and sustain services.

Early this week, church leaders called for urgent settlement of more than Sh10 billion owed to the hospitals, warning that the delays are threatening healthcare delivery and the survival of some facilities.

NCCK Chairman Rev Elias Agola told the press that the outstanding payments, costly digital compliance requirements and stringent regulations had placed mission hospitals under severe financial strain.

“The prolonged delays have left hospitals unable to pay suppliers, buy essential medicine and pay staff salaries on time, forcing some facilities to turn away patients or even demand out-of-pocket cash payments,” Agola said.

In education, the administration’s record is also facing scrutiny, particularly over capitation and the financing of public universities.

KUPPET Vihiga County Executive Secretary Charles Otiende said more needs to be done to improve the sector, pointing to inadequate capitation and financial pressures facing schools and teachers.

Otiende, however, gave Ruto an above-average rating, citing the employment of 100,000 teachers who had spent years in the job market, as well as the transition of intern teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.

He said these gains should be matched with improved teachers’ welfare, noting that deductions from their gross salaries, including PAYE and the housing levy, had significantly reduced their disposable income.

President William Ruto at the 4th edition of the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival on November 14, 2026. [PCS]

“Our concern is the welfare of teachers. The deductions from our gross pay have left many teachers with little money on their payslips to meet their needs, including investing in homes. The Government should consider reducing PAYE by five per cent, as it did during the Covid-19 period,” he said.

He urged the government to provide clarity on the disbursement of the funds, warning that delays and shortfalls were affecting the smooth running of schools.

Public universities have equally experienced prolonged disruption, with lecturers and students claiming that the sector is ailing and describing recent interventions as piecemeal.

More than 30,000 university workers affiliated with the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and Kudheiha downed their tools on October 2 over disagreements surrounding the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The 28-day strike paralysed learning across public universities, keeping thousands of students out of classrooms for almost a month.

The dispute was resolved on October 30 following a Sh20 billion agreement between the government and the unions, paving the way for students to resume learning on November 2.

UASU Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga had earlier accused the government of failing to provide a financial counter-proposal for the new collective bargaining agreement.

The strike exposed the financial difficulties facing public universities and renewed questions about the sustainability of the new higher education funding model.

Introduced in 2023, the student-centred funding framework replaced the Differentiated Unit Cost system, shifting university financing towards government scholarships, loans and household contributions based on students’ assessed financial needs.

However, the model has faced criticism over the classification of students, household contributions and uncertainty about parents’ ability to meet the cost of higher education.

Education law expert Ken Echesa had warned about the potential consequences when the model was introduced.

“The government has committed to fund 53 per cent of university education, chances are it may end up funding 10 per cent or 7 per cent and this is what will cripple universities,” he said in a previous interview.

His concerns have gained renewed relevance following the university workers’ strike and the continuing debate over financing higher education.

Agriculture, which Ruto has repeatedly identified as a pillar of his economic transformation agenda, is also facing questions over food security and the country’s dependence on imports.

Kenya continues to grapple with maize supply challenges following below-average production in some of its major grain-producing regions.

The government announced plans to import 25 million 90-kilogramme bags of maize to bridge an anticipated deficit arising from drought and reduced production.

The Food Security Outlook by FEWS NET estimated that 2026 long-rains maize production could be 22 to 28 per cent below average, with the North Rift and Western Kenya among the affected production areas.

The planned imports have revived questions about the country’s capacity to feed itself sustainably despite its agricultural potential.

The sugar industry presents another difficult picture. Parliamentary figures presented in October showed that Kenya imported 716,991 tonnes of sugar in 2025 and between January and August 2026, against local production of 1,224,071 tonnes over the same period.

The figures underline the continued dependence on imported sugar despite the industry’s importance to farmers and livelihoods, particularly in Western Kenya.

For farmers in the sugar belt, the debate goes beyond national statistics, touching on the future of local mills, cane production, employment and household incomes.

Simon Wesechere, deputy secretary-general of the Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (KNFSF), said farmers’ concerns were central to assessing the country’s economic performance.

“The question is no longer simply whether Kenyans are talking about change, but whether the government can convince them that the farming problems they experience are being addressed,” he said.

The government’s record is also being questioned on constitutionalism and the rule of law.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has raised concerns over rising abductions, warning that failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible was encouraging impunity.

LSK Vice-President Teresia Wavinya said: “The continued occurrence of these violations without timely and effective investigations and accountability risks normalising impunity and eroding public confidence in State institutions.”

LSK President Charles Kanjama called for those behind the abductions to be held accountable, saying: “This accountability must extend beyond the actual abductors to include those who provide them with resources, issue instructions, or have knowledge of what is happening but remain silent.”

The recent disappearance of advocate Abshir Ahmedsadak Abdi has again brought enforced disappearances into the national conversation.

Amnesty International Kenya said the lawyer’s abduction brought the number of recorded abduction cases in 2026 to 22.

When former President Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, then Deputy President unveiled the Keg brand. [File, Standard]

The High Court subsequently questioned the circumstances surrounding Abdi’s disappearance. Justice Alexander Muteti said police were central to establishing his whereabouts and summoned senior security officials to explain what had happened.

The case has renewed concerns over whether State agencies are respecting court orders and fulfilling their constitutional responsibility to protect citizens.

The Judiciary has defended its handling of abduction cases, maintaining that its role is to protect fundamental rights through judicial intervention, while enforcement of court orders rests with the relevant State agencies.

Lawyer Moses Ombayo raised concerns over the implementation of constitutional safeguards, particularly the alleged disregard of court orders, abductions and the accountability of security agencies.

“The broader question is whether constitutional institutions are being allowed to operate independently and whether those entrusted with protecting citizens are themselves accountable to the law,” said Ombayo.

The business community has also offered its assessment of the economic environment.

In August, small-scale traders in Nairobi staged demonstrations against changes in the Kenya Revenue Authority’s customs valuation benchmark, arguing that the revised rates were increasing the cost of importing goods and threatening their businesses.

The new minimum valuation benchmark for a consolidated 40-foot container rose from Sh2.5 million to Sh3.2 million, an increase of Sh700,000.

The protests brought parts of the Central Business District to a standstill, with traders from Kamukunji, Gikomba and Nyamakima taking to the streets to demand a review of the changes.

For many Kenyans, the cost of fuel is another major concern, with rising prices adding to the cost of living.

Ephraim Mogire, a driver plying the Kisumu-Busia route, said rising fuel prices had increased the cost of operating public transport vehicles, putting pressure on earnings and making business increasingly difficult.

The latest Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) price review, covering October 15 to November 14, placed super petrol at Sh226.51 per litre in Kisumu and Sh227.57 in Busia.

The Kisumu price represented an increase of Sh12.82 per litre from the previous review, while diesel rose to Sh227.71.

“The increases have implications beyond motorists, with fuel costs feeding into transport fares and the prices of goods and services,” said Mogire.