President William Ruto has said Kenya has the potential to attain first-world status in the next two decades if citizens unite and focus on productivity.

Speaking at State House during a meeting with grassroots leaders from Murang’a County on Friday, September 12, 2025 Ruto said the country’s challenges stem not from a lack of resources but from internal divisions such as hatred, tribalism, and empty politics.

Call for unity and productivity

“We can be a first-world country in the next 20 years if we do the right things, and I speak as the leader of this nation today. I want to ask the citizens of the Republic of Kenya: there is absolutely no reason why we are in the third world,” Ruto said.

He urged Kenyans to “tuwache chuki, ukabila, tuwache siasa ya bure na tupange kazi yetu sawasawa.” He pointed to agricultural reforms that have reduced maize and sugar imports by 70 per cent as proof of what self-reliance can achieve.

The president framed this progress as part of his broader blueprint to grow the economy through savings and homegrown investments. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who was present, echoed the vision, saying, “Under President Ruto’s leadership, Kenya will be a first-world country like South Korea. We have potential!”

Political tensions in Murang’a

The meeting, attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Lands Cabinet Secretary Esther Wahome, also focused on Murang’a’s development priorities.

However, political cracks in the Mt. Kenya region were visible as a rival faction allied to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua held a parallel meeting in Karen. Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu and several MCAs accused Ruto of using the State House session to weaken Gachagua’s influence.

“Ruto knows the needs of Murang’a people. He doesn’t have to call them to the State House for him to know their needs. He only called them to bribe them in his desperate move,” Nyutu claimed. Gachagua, on his part, branded those who attended the State House meeting as “traitors.”

e-procurement

Ruto’s remarks came a day after he defended the electronic government procurement system, launched in April, saying the digital platform would eliminate corruption and safeguard taxpayer money. “For the avoidance of doubt, we are not going back on e-procurement, because we want transparency,” he said.

The system has registered all state and county agencies, though governors have raised concerns over technical hitches and delays. Despite resistance, Ruto has maintained that e-procurement is central to his administration’s accountability agenda.