President William Ruto has defended his track record and accused critics of engaging in cheap propaganda to discredit his government.

In his Jamhuri Day speech at Uhuru Gardens Nairobi, Ruto said he has no problem with criticism, adding that it provides feedback that can make him a better leader.

However, Ruto took issue with some of the information being shared in public, saying it is falsehood.

“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,” the president said.

Public fury

Since ascending to power two years ago, Ruto has faced growing public fury and opposition over some of the projects he introduced.

Anti-Ruto banters are the order of the day online and offline, with a majority of Kenyans appearing to drift further from the trajectory being set by the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Since the anti-Finance Bill protests in June that morphed into anti-government revolt, the public no longer shies away from calling out the government over controversial projects.

In outright self-consolation, Ruto said the hostility he is facing is synonymous with what freedom fighters were subjected to by colonialists so as to distract them from fighting for independence.

“As they fought hard to reclaim our sovereignty, the enemies of our freedom deployed state-of-the-art 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,” he said.
He added: “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.”

Affordable housing

Ruto urged Kenyans to engage him on the basis of truth warning that by always being negative, they risk destroying the country by sabotaging development and undermining democracy.

“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?” he posed.

He went on: “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?”

He said that Kenyans have a duty to interrogate policies and hold the government accountable.

President Ruto said that under Taifa Care, about 5.6 million citizens have been transferred from the National Health Insurance Fund and registered another 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,” he emphasised.

He lauded Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Bomet, Embu and Lamu, which are leading in Taifa care registration.