President William Ruto has delivered his third State of the Nation Address to a joint sitting of Parliament, stating that his administration has fulfilled campaign promises and laid the groundwork for Kenya’s transformation in three years.

The president made the comment on Thursday, November 20, 2025, while he addressed the country from the parliamentary building.

“Today, the evidence is clear. Evidence of promises made and promises kept. In just 3 years, we have built, not monuments of words, but foundations of progress, and yet even with these achievements, I am convinced that this is only the beginning,” President Ruto told the House.

Reflections on Kenya’s journey

The President framed his address around Kenya’s 62-year post-independence journey, noting the struggles and milestones that have shaped the nation.

“As I prepared this address, I reflected deeply on the long road we have travelled as a nation. Sixty-two years, shaped by struggle, sacrifice, hardship, triumph and milestones that have affirmed our spirit,” he said.

From that reflection, he concluded: “From that reflection came one undeniable truth. We have made commendable progress, but Kenya still punches way below its true weight.”

Potential for national transformation

President Ruto said Kenya possesses the talent, resources, and spirit to make a rapid transition from a developing to a developed country within a single generation.

“This nation has the talent, the resources and the spirit not just to improve, but to leap and to make the transition from a developing country to a developed one within our lifetime. That is why I speak today with full conviction that history has summoned this generation, our generation, at such a time as this, to a higher purpose,” he declared.

The President described the current period as a historic turning point, emphasising decisions as defining moments. “Some eras are shaped by events; others are defined by the decisions a nation makes. And today, Kenya is called to make such a decision, to finish the journey our forebearers began, and finally turn our long-held potential into lived reality,” he said.

President Ruto also drew comparisons with the rapid economic rise of the Asian Tigers, citing South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia as examples of nations that transformed their fortunes through deliberate investment in their people and long-term planning.

He noted that Malaysia’s Prime Minister is expected in Kenya over the weekend, adding that these countries refused to be constrained by their initial circumstances and have since become first-world economies. “If they could rise, so can Kenya. It can be done,” he said.

“I have often spoken of the Asian tigers: South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. And by the way, the Prime Minister of Malaysia will be here this weekend. They invested in their people and refused to be trapped in the limitations of their circumstances. Today, they stand as first-world economies. If they could rise, so can Kenya. It can be done!”