A few weeks ago, while addressing Kenyans living in Rome, Italy, President William Ruto sounded a note of caution.
He cautioned that social media is a noisy marketplace where truth and fiction often appear indistinguishable, and urged Kenyans living abroad not to accept every viral post as gospel truth.
He warned that a torrent of deliberate misinformation was swirling back home for political and selfish ends, and urged Kenyans abroad to verify everything.
Against this backdrop, the president highlighted what he sees as the successes of his administration over the last three years.
At the centre of his presentation were two flagship projects that have struggled to gain public confidence. He leaned on Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Affordable Housing Programme, which have sometimes been difficult to sell to some Kenyans.
“As we speak, 30.6 million Kenyans have registered with SHA in the past 18 months, compared to eight million in the 60 years of the defunct National Health Insurance Fund,” he said.
Dr Ruto described the shift as both rapid and revolutionary. He added that the SHA is set to pay hospitals Sh13 billion for services rendered in March this year, a sum that rivals what the NHIF used to collect in six months.
Now, in what feels like a pivot from policy to storytelling, the president, who last Saturday made a grand entrance at the Kalasha Film Awards, becoming the first president to attend the ceremony since its inception 15 years ago, is bringing his message to screens near you.
In a fresh bid to promote these two controversial projects, he has launched a film competition with a prize fund of Sh40 million for filmmakers and content creators who can depict most compellingly how SHA and affordable housing have transformed Kenyan lives. While presenting the additional prize money of Sh300,000 to the winners of the Kalasha on behalf of the president, Dennis Itumbi, the Head of Special Projects and Creative Economy, reinforced the president’s words in his speech at the Kalasha ceremony.
Mr Itumbi said there will be two winners: one filmmaker and one content creator. They will each receive Sh10 million for the best production highlighting success stories under the SHA.
President Ruto's speech during the 14th Kalasha Awards
Another two winners will also receive Sh10 million each for the best film or content showcasing the achievements of the Affordable Housing project. The Kenya Film Commission has been tasked with running the competition and will soon release the official terms and conditions.
“The Kenya Film Commission will develop the rules governing the two categories and publish them by the end of this week, allowing filmmakers and content creators to submit their work for a chance to win the Sh10 million per category promised by the president. I have had a meeting with the president to clarify the situation, and the decision is that filmmakers will have a category on SHA and housing, and content creators will also benefit,” Mr Itumbi said.
He added: “In total, the amount is Sh40 million: Sh10 million for the best film on SHA and another Sh10 million for the best film on housing. Then there will be a further Sh10 million for the best content on housing and a further Sh10 million for content creators on the SHA.”
President William Ruto presents Shiksha Arora with the Positive Impact Content Creator of the Year at the 14th Kalasha International Film and TV Awards in Nairobi on May 3, 2026
Photo credit: PCS
This comes at a time when data on employment in Kenya’s construction sector contradicts job figures released by the President and senior government officials, raising questions about the actual impact of the Affordable Housing Project on employment.
According to the Economic Survey, the total number of Kenyans working in the construction sector, including industries such as housing and roads, stood at 728,400 last year. This included 490,100 informal workers and 228,300 formal employees of construction companies and government bodies.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said that 35,800 new jobs were created across the construction sector last year alone, marking a 5.2 per cent increase from the 692,600 workers in 2024.
However, the figures released by KNBS clash with those presented by President Ruto and senior government officials when communicating the impact of affordable housing on employment in the country.
Since launching the programme in September 2022, President Ruto has promoted it as the key to delivering on his promise of creating one million jobs a year.
14th edition of Kalasha awards - Part 2
“The programme has created over 428,000 jobs, including for architects, engineers, fundis, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, masons, steelworkers and transporters, as well as thousands of MSMEs. At its peak next year, it will employ up to one million Kenyans,” Mr Ruto told MPs during the State of the Nation address in November last year.
President William Ruto announces winners at the 14th Kalasha International Film and TV Awards in Nairobi on May 3, 2026.
Photo credit: PCS
At the time, he announced that 230,000 affordable homes and 276 modern markets were under construction as part of the programme, which also involves the construction of markets.
The project has also hit the headlines on SHA, with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale revealing in January that SHA lost Sh11 billion to fraud through fake claims between October 2024 and April 2025, only to backtrack and deny that any money was lost.
