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Who's next after Gideon? Ruto reveals ongoing talks with leaders
President William Ruto at Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi's Kabarak home on October 10, 2025.
President William Ruto has spoken out about his numerous meetings with political leaders who were initially perceived to be opposed to his administration.
Speaking on Sunday, for the first time, about the ongoing agenda behind the scenes, President Ruto said that his main goal was to improve the state of the country’s economy and development.
“By God's grace, we have been in the third world for far too long. We have had our fair share. It is now time and by God's grace, by the effort of our hands, by the blessing of our plans and the energy and the unity of the people of Kenya, we want to move this country from a third-world country to a first-world country in the next 30 years by 2055,” President Ruto spoke during the 70th anniversary of Ziwani Africa Inland Church (AIC) in Nairobi.
He said that his dragnet recently saw Kanu leader Gideon Moi being onboarded to the broad-based government.
According to President Ruto, more leaders who share the same ideology of transformation of the country will be reached out to soon, raising the question of who is the next target.
“I have had conversations with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on how we are going to move this country from a third-world country to a first-world country. I have engaged my brother Uhuru Kenyatta on how we are going to move this country from a third-world country to a first-world country. I have engaged many, including Gideon Moi, recently on how we are going to move this country from a third-world country to a first-world country, and I will continue to engage all the leaders until we come together so that we can take this country to be a first-world country in our lifetime because it is possible,” President Ruto said.
President William Ruto and KANU Party Leader Gideon Moi after a meeting at State House, Nairobi.
Mr Moi has been in the opposition camp, criticising the Kenya Kwanza regime, and has expressed interest in vying for the by-election for the Baringo Senate seat.
However, after meeting with the President at State House, Nairobi, last week, the Kanu leader dramatically announced that he was stepping down in favour of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.
“It is now time as Kenyans that we raise the bar. We now need to up the game. In the last three years, we have seen that it is possible to build 175,000 housing units in Nairobi alone. Our healthcare system is getting better and better. We had seven million Kenyans under health insurance, and we now have 26.7 million more Kenyans onboarded on the health insurance cover,” Dr Ruto said.
He stated that, besides his quest to reach out to top leaders in the political formation of the country, he has engaged with almost 80 percent of Members of Parliament, explaining to them how the country can be transformed.
The President also stated that plans were in the offing to revamp the state of Nairobi City County by working in collaboration with the national government.
He revealed that uncollected garbage in the city creates a bad image of the country among tourists and visitors.
“We are in the final stages of signing an agreement with the private sector on how we are going to clean this city. It cannot continue the way it is. We don't want our city to be muddy. The national government is going to provide resources so that it can support the city of Nairobi,” he said.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who accompanied the President, said that the county was doing its best to improve the living standards of Nairobi residents. Part of the plans, he said, includes revamping some of the old estates in the City, such as Woodley estate, Ziwani, among others.
“Through the partnership with the national government, we have been able to have 140 million litres additional water in Nairobi which will benefit the residents including Ziwani people,” Governor Sakaja said.
