Ruto: My engagements with Uhuru and Raila have been about economic transformation
By Luke Oluoch, October 12, 2025President William Ruto affirmed that a desire to set Kenya on the path of economic transformation has been the centre of his reaching out to prominent leaders in the country.
Speaking at the AIC Ziwani on Sunday, October 12, 2025, Ruto stated that his past engagement with the nation’s fourth president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was about realising the country’s economic potential.
Ruto had earlier highlighted that Kenya’s economic transformation is a critical pillar in achieving the vision of being a first-world country.
President Ruto hosted Uhuru Kenyatta in State House on Friday, August 1, 2025, during a landmark joint EAC-SADC summit on peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The summit brought together African leaders and mediators in an effort to harmonise ongoing peace processes and establish a united front to address the protracted conflict in eastern DRC.
Economic growth
“I have had a conversation with our former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and my brother, former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, on how we are going to move Kenya from a third-world country to a first-world country,” he stated.
Ruto asserted that he also held similar talks on Kenya’s economic take-off with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Leader, Raila Odinga, Gideon Moi, and members of parliament.
Also watch: Ruto visits former President Uhuru Kenyatta at his Gatundu home
Talked to MPs
“I have talked to 80 per cent of the MPs on the same, and I will continue to engage all leaders until we come together so that we take Kenya to a first-world country in our lifetime because it is possible,” he stated.
” I urge all Kenyans to join hands in that endeavour, and God, whose umerited favour, is on us, will help us,” he concluded.
His remarks come after he also unveiled plans for a major facelift targeting Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi.
The president asserted that Nairobi would undergo a transformation befitting its stature as Kenya’s capital.
“We have agreed to partner with the county government to clean Nairobi. It cannot continue to be a city in filth. We already have up to 40 thousand youths in the Nairobi River regeneration program,” he said.
According to the president, the private sector will jointly work with the national government and the Nairobi County government.
“We are in the final stages of signing an agreement with the private sector on how we are going to clean this city. We have also agreed that we will have no muddy roads in our city. The government will provide resources to improve our roads and also to light up our streets,” he added.