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President William Ruto addresses residents of Kakamega Town on March 17, 2026.
President William Ruto on Tuesday unleashed a bristling attack against his political rivals during his tour of Western Kenya, setting aside his ‘agenda-based’ script he so professes and in its place raising a fiery display of diatribe.
What had been heralded as a noble and forward-looking development tour quickly took a different turn after the President took a combative tone.
The presidential dais, always meant for policy pronouncements until the official campaign season, was swiftly turned into battle grounds of rhetoric. The language of developmental progress gave way to verbal confrontation.
The President, perhaps weary of absorbing blows in silence, stepped boldly, even defiantly, into the arena of dirty politics, meeting his critics with sharpened words and unmistakable fury.
In his first stop in Cheptais, Mount Elgon, in Bungoma County, the gloves came off, and his tone hardened. The President issued a resounding signal that the phase of restraint was over.
“Ati wale majama wa opposition, agenda yao ni moja tu William Ruto, na kama mnataka tuende hapo mimi niko tayari. (The agenda of the opposition is William Ruto, if that is what you want, then I am ready. But because I am busy with development, I will give you one percent of my time, 99 percent will be for the people of Kenya,” said Dr Ruto, setting the tone for a barrage of insults that lasted a whole day.
From describing them as 'fools, murderers, charlatans, brainless, idiots, conmen, fraudsters, and scavengers,' no vocabulary escaped President Ruto in his quest to discredit his competitors as unworthy to face him in the next General Election.
His first salvo appeared to be aimed at one of the opposition party leaders.
“Yesterday, they said I am thin and not getting enough sleep. I am intelligent enough to know when to cut weight so that I can concentrate on what I am doing. Use the mirror to look at yourselves, go to the gym first, because our stomachs are almost bursting, your shirts reduce the portion you take so that you don’t sleep and you’re farting in public forums, useless,” said Dr Ruto. The Nation could not identify the inferred leader for legal reasons.
The President then trained his guns at yet another opposition leader, whom he said only inherited his late brother’s political seat and should focus on building his own life.
“Iko mwengine hapa Kitale, ata sijui aliachiwa kiti, shamba na watoto na ndugu yake. Utaongoza nchi aje na huwezi ongoza boma yako. Enda jenga nyumba kwanza na utafute bibi uwachane na mimi (There is this one from Kitale who inherited his brother’s seat, was given land, but has no wife and yet wants to lead this country. Go establish yourself independently, build a home, settle your family, and take responsibility instead of engaging in constant criticism,” said Dr Ruto.
Dr Ruto then turned on yet another unnamed opposition leader, whom he accused of murder and changing the contents of his brother’s Will and disinheriting his widow.
“You know the possessed tribal bigot, you know him. He is a cold-blooded murderer, a thief, stealing from your own brother’s widows. You are a heartless character who went beside his brother’s deathbed and manipulated the Will. He also impregnated a young woman and killed her. A character who has no morals cannot lead this nation and cannot lecture us on theft,” said Dr Ruto.
Amid all the barrage of insults, the crowd cheered him on, as social media went berserk with forwards, shares and retweets.
It was not only the politicians who met the wrath of the President. Embattled board members of Nairobi Hospital also saw his true colours as he defended his involvement in the ongoing fiasco at the health facility.
He stated that he only waded into the controversy as the patron of the hospital.
President Ruto insisted that he will protect the facility because he is not only the patron of Nairobi Hospital, but also because it is a premier facility in the East African region.
According to the President, he was approached by doctors from the hospital to save the situation from a few individuals who aimed to run down the facility.
"Senior doctors and professionals approached me to save the facility from conmen and fraudsters. And as Patron of this institution, I will not stand by and watch fraudsters, charlatans, and conmen drag down one of the premier hospitals in this region," said President Ruto.
He insisted the hospital will not be taken over by 'characters' who have selfish interests. He said he had instructed that all those who are involved in the fraudulent activities be taken to court to face justice.
"The con artists will swiftly face the full force of the law. This institution was built on integrity, service, and excellence; values that will not be compromised by opportunists and self-serving interests. Sanity shall be restored, order will prevail, and the right thing will be done; decisively and without hesitation," said Dr Ruto.
Two days ago, Nairobi hospital Board Chairman Dr Job Obwaka, Executive Board Chair Dr Chris Bichage, lawyer Samson Kinyanjui and Valerie Akinyi of Kenya Hospital Association were charged with conflict of interest and failing to file financial statements with the registrar of companies before December 31, 2024 and loss of millions of shillings at the facility.
They denied the charges and were released on a Sh5 million bond.
Mr Ruto waded into the woes facing the prestigious private hospital, which has been at the centre of rival board faction wars, government interests, and professionals in leadership disputes, financial management, and the legitimacy of the members' register.
The President claimed that opposition leaders are hell-bent on looking at the headlines in the newspapers and jumping on any small issue to discredit him.
"To the brainless opposition, the governance challenges at the Nairobi Hospital were nothing more than an opportunity to scavenge for cheap headlines and attention. They should keep off Nairobi Hospital issues and instead look for doctors from the facility to understand the challenges there," said Dr Ruto.
President Ruto lashed at his rivals saying their main agenda should not be him but policies and track records they have individually.
"These clueless opposition leaders should have an agenda, not me, but if their agenda is me, then they are in for a major challenge. Some will have to go to the gym to catch up or match me. I see them sleeping in public forums, in that group, none of them is capable of beating me in the next elections," said President Ruto.
He was speaking on Tuesday morning during his developmental tour of Bungoma County, where he commissioned a rural electrification project at Cheptais Village in Mt Elgon. He also laid the foundation for the Sh1.8 million Cheptais Modern Market, Mt Elgon Constituency.
He said the government intends to connect over 25,800 households to power across the county, expand opportunity, enhance livelihoods, and drive inclusive economic growth.
Sh60 million
He later opened new classrooms at Toroso Primary School, funded by the Safaricom Foundation at a cost of Sh60 million, strengthening access to quality education for children and broke ground for the Chesikaki Water Supply Project, Mt Elgon Constituency.
At Chwele, Kabuchai Constituency, the President launched the KOICA-Chwele–Kibabii Water Project, a Sh232 million investment that will provide reliable water access to over 185,000 residents in the area. He also launched the Sh345 million Chwele Modern Market.
He then proceeded to inspect the Malava Water Supply and Sanitation Project and laid a foundation stone for the Kakamega Town Affordable Housing Project Phase 2, Lurambi Constituency.
At Lurambi, he sought to call out his critics, insisting that the ‘Singapore’ dream will unfold before their eyes.
"When I say we are moving Kenya to a first-world country in our generation, I know what I am saying because it is possible. What has been missing is having a leader who is capable of making these hard decisions, such as affordable housing," said President Ruto.
During the tour, the President was accompanied by Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula, Cabinet Secretaries Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives and MSMEs), Alice Wahome (Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development), Governors Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega), Kenneth Lusaka (Bungoma) and MPs from the region.
The leaders rallied the region behind President Ruto.
"The President is bringing development, and that is why we have to rally behind him in 2027," said Mr Wetang’ula.
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