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William Ruto’s Incompetence, Ineptitude, Cluelessness & Unprecedented Greed Has Doomed The Present & Destroyed The Future Of Kenya

BY Soko Directory Team · September 16, 2025 10:09 am

Nations are not built by rhetoric; they are forged through vision, policy, and the ability to mobilize resources for the future. Uganda is laying its oil pipeline, Tanzania is erecting its LNG terminal, and Ethiopia is harnessing hydropower.

Kenya, under William Samoei Ruto, has none of these. What it has instead is a man whose character is a mixture of opportunism and deceit, and a regime called Kenya Kwanza that governs by theft and spectacle. This is not leadership; it is organized sabotage dressed in the language of prayer and hustler slogans.

Ruto’s character is that of a salesman, not a statesman. His entire career has been built on trickery—selling lies as truth, marketing mediocrity as vision. As Vice President, he promised a digital superhighway and a million jobs a year. As President, he has delivered inflation, collapsing industries, and mass unemployment. It is not incompetence by accident; it is a reflection of his inability to think beyond survival tactics.

At the heart of his presidency is greed. In 2024, Kenya spent Sh129 billion on the Social Health Insurance Fund, marketed as universal healthcare reform. Not a single hospital improved. Patients still lie on cold floors, oxygen remains scarce, and doctors strike in protest. That money disappeared into the black hole of patronage networks. Ruto did not design SHIF to heal Kenyans; he designed it to feed his cronies. His character makes him incapable of separating governance from theft.

The debt situation reveals another dimension of his weakness. Kenya’s public debt now exceeds Sh11.1 trillion. More than 60% of tax revenue is consumed by debt servicing. Instead of negotiating relief or restructuring, Ruto has chosen the path of overtaxation. He squeezes boda boda riders, mama mbogas, and SMEs while shielding multinationals and politically connected importers. This is not a strategy—it is cowardice, the easy path of bleeding the powerless while fearing confrontation with the powerful.

Inflation is the daily face of his failure. In just two years, maize flour prices rose from Sh120 to Sh200 per packet. Cooking oil that once cost Sh280 now sells for over Sh400. Fuel has crossed Sh200 per liter. Electricity tariffs climbed 24% in 2024. These numbers are not abstract—they are death sentences for households already living on less than Sh20,000 a month, a category that includes nearly half of Kenyan families. Ruto’s character treats these realities as inconveniences to be dismissed with prayer and rhetoric.

The NSE is a graveyard of investor confidence under his watch. Market capitalization has fallen by Sh500 billion. Safaricom, once a symbol of stability, now trades at levels last seen five years ago. KCB and Equity bleed value, foreign investors withdraw. UNCTAD data shows FDI into Kenya dropped 21% in 2024, while Tanzania and Ethiopia surged. No leader with integrity presides over such a decline and calls it progress. But Ruto has no shame; his character thrives on gaslighting.

Read Also: Kenya’s Three Lost Years: A Critique Of Ruto’s Presidency

Tourism, long Kenya’s pride, has been overtaken by Tanzania. In 2024, Tanzania welcomed 2.5 million visitors compared to Kenya’s 1.3 million. This is not a statistical fluke; it is the result of investment in airports, security, and branding by Samia Suluhu’s government. Meanwhile, Ruto focuses on building a multibillion-shilling church at State House. It is not God he seeks—it is vanity. The church is his monument to ego, a testament to how little he values real development.

Agriculture, Kenya’s backbone, has been wrecked. Farmers drown in debt as input costs rise, while imports flood the market. Cartels tied to Ruto’s allies dominate sugar, maize, and rice. The result is a nation that cannot feed itself, despite fertile soils and hardworking farmers. His character does not allow him to protect producers; he only protects cartels that grease his networks. It is betrayal written in hunger.

Manufacturing has collapsed under his nose. Instead of nurturing local industries, Ruto has allowed imports of cheap second-hand clothes, counterfeit electronics, and Chinese steel to overrun the market. SMEs that once employed millions are closing shop. Industrial parks remain empty shells. Kenya’s dream of being Africa’s manufacturing hub has been murdered, not by incompetence, but by deliberate neglect.

Education is no better. The Competency-Based Curriculum remains underfunded and poorly structured. Universities face closure from a lack of funding. Lecturers strike, students drop out, and graduates are left jobless. Ruto responds not with reforms but with slogans. His character does not grasp the value of knowledge—he only understands short-term theatrics.

Regional diplomacy, once Kenya’s strength, is now an embarrassment. Ruto’s frequent foreign trips, costing billions, have yielded little beyond photo-ops. Kenya’s traditional allies are frustrated by inconsistent policy, while neighbors quietly bypass Nairobi for Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa. In just three years, Kenya has lost its voice in the region. This too reflects his character: a man obsessed with appearances but unable to deliver substance.

Corruption is not a byproduct of his rule—it is its lifeblood. His Cabinet is filled with individuals facing allegations of graft, yet no serious action has been taken. Tenders for roads, fuel, and medical supplies are controlled by his allies. The Auditor General’s reports are damning, but Ruto dismisses them. His character is too compromised to fight corruption; he thrives in it.

The housing levy, marketed as a visionary policy, is another scam. Billions are collected from Kenyans for “affordable housing,” yet no transparent mechanism exists. The few houses built are overpriced, far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Kenyans ask why they must fund houses when millions cannot afford food or healthcare. Ruto has no answer—because the levy was never about housing. It was about theft.

Ruto’s obsession with handouts further exposes his character. He bribes teachers, civil servants, and MPs with token cash to buy loyalty. These handouts are not policy—they are tools of control. They reduce governance to cheap transactions, stripping citizens of dignity. Only a leader without vision relies on bribes to survive.

Even religion is not safe from his exploitation. He prays publicly, builds churches, and brands himself as a devout leader. Yet his actions contradict every moral principle. This hypocrisy is not incidental—it is calculated. His character thrives on contradiction, using religion as a shield for theft. It is spiritual fraud on a national scale.

Security, another critical pillar, is collapsing. Banditry in the North rages unchecked. Urban crime has soared, with theft and carjackings reported daily. Police are underfunded, demoralized, and politicized. Ruto responds by sending more rhetoric and less support. His character cannot confront crises—it can only deflect blame.

The energy sector is riddled with contradictions. Kenya imports electricity even as it drowns in expensive contracts with Independent Power Producers. Fuel prices remain high despite global declines. Meanwhile, Ethiopia is preparing to export cheap hydropower. Tanzania eyes LNG exports. Uganda prepares for oil. Kenya under Ruto has no energy plan, only endless excuses.

Infrastructure is another casualty. Roads remain incomplete, and contractors are unpaid. The Standard Gauge Railway, once controversial, is now underutilized. Ruto has proposed no equivalent mega project. His vision for infrastructure is limited to cosmetic repairs for photo-ops. His character lacks the discipline to plan generational investments.

The youth, once his political base, are now his loudest critics. They see through his lies, mock his theatrics, and protest his policies. Yet he responds with arrogance, dismissing them as misguided. This is the tragedy of his character—he cannot listen, he cannot learn.

Women, too, have been betrayed. Campaign promises of empowerment have yielded nothing but token appointments. Maternal healthcare is collapsing, gender-based violence rises unchecked, and economic opportunities remain scarce. His character treats women as political ornaments, not as equal citizens.

Kenyans in the diaspora, once courted, are now ignored. Their remittances keep the economy afloat, yet they receive no representation, no policies, no respect. Diaspora bonds are floated but mistrusted, because Ruto’s character guarantees theft.

The judiciary, meant to be independent, is under attack. Ruto undermines his authority whenever rulings go against his interests. Judges face intimidation. His character does not tolerate checks and balances—it only understands control.

The media, another watchdog, faces the same fate. Journalists are bribed, threatened, or sidelined. Critical coverage is dismissed as propaganda. His character cannot coexist with accountability, so he seeks to silence it.

Civil society, once vibrant, is weakened by restrictive laws and harassment. NGOs face taxation and intimidation. Activists are branded as enemies of progress. Ruto’s character equates dissent with disloyalty, mistaking democracy for dictatorship.

The private sector is suffocating. Businesses face higher taxes, unpredictable regulations, and weak consumer demand. Investors shift to Tanzania and Ethiopia. Kenya, once the gateway to East Africa, is becoming the region’s backwater. His character cannot foster enterprise—it only exploits it.

The military, long respected, is being politicized. Appointments are influenced by loyalty rather than merit. Procurement scandals abound. A once professional institution risks being dragged into political battles. His character has no respect for professionalism—it rewards sycophancy.

Internationally, Kenya’s reputation is in tatters. Once seen as a model democracy, it is now viewed as unstable. Credit rating agencies have downgraded the country, increasing borrowing costs. His frequent foreign trips produce little beyond empty speeches. The world sees through him.

The environment is neglected. Deforestation continues, rivers dry up, and climate policies are lip service. Meanwhile, billions are lost in climate financing scams. His character cannot protect the land—it only extracts from it.

The health of democracy itself is deteriorating. Parliament has become a rubber stamp, filled with bribed legislators. Opposition voices are co-opted or silenced. Checks and balances no longer function. His character thrives in captured institutions, not independent ones.

The biggest betrayal is hope. Kenyans who voted for him believed his hustler narrative. They thought he understood their struggles. Today, they know they were conned. His character is incapable of empathy—it only knows manipulation.

Kenya’s decline is measurable. GDP growth slowed to 4.5% in 2024, below regional peers. Inflation hit double digits. Debt-to-GDP ratio surpassed 70%. These are not just numbers—they are proof of collapse. And yet, Ruto insists Kenya is on the right path. His character is delusional, blind to reality.

The tragedy is generational. Children born today inherit debt, unemployment, and despair. Their parents live in suffocation. Their grandparents remember a Kenya that once had potential. Ruto has stolen not just today, but tomorrow.

What makes this unforgivable is that neighbors are rising. Uganda prepares to export oil. Tanzania doubles tourist arrivals. Ethiopia exports power. Kenya is reduced to importing, begging, and borrowing. Once the region’s leader, Kenya is now the region’s target market.

And still, Ruto prays. He prays for wisdom while stealing, prays for unity while dividing, prays for prosperity while destroying. His prayers are not petitions—they are performances. His character is a fraudster cloaked in faith.

This presidency is not governance—it is vandalism. It is not leadership—it is theft. Ruto’s character is the rot at the center of Kenya’s decline. He is not just unfit for office; he is a danger to the nation’s survival.

Kenya lost the 1990s under Moi. It is losing the 2020s under Ruto. But this time, the fall is faster, the consequences harsher, and the recovery harder. Kenya cannot afford another wasted decade.

The future of this nation depends on recognizing the truth: William Ruto is not a president—he is a curse. His character is not flawed—it is poisonous. His leadership is not misguided—it is malicious. And his continued rule is the greatest injustice inflicted on Kenya since independence.

This is the death of a dream. Unless Kenyans rise, resist, and reclaim their country, Ruto will be remembered not as a leader but as the man who destroyed Kenya’s soul.

Read Also: Justice Cannot Be Self-Administered: Why Ruto Must Step Away From the Compensation Framework

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