President William Ruto on Wednesday courted minority and marginalised communities with cash-backed pledges and policy promises at State House, in a move that doubles as early groundwork for the 2027 General Election.
Speaking to more than 5,000 leaders and representatives during celebrations marking the UN International Day for Minorities, Ruto cast his administration as a corrective to decades of exclusion, insisting the fate of minority communities would no longer depend on political goodwill.
“The place of minorities in our nation will no longer be determined by the whims of individuals; it will be firmly anchored in law,” Ruto said.
The President announced the imminent rollout of the National Policy on Ethnic Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and Marginalised Communities, recently approved by Cabinet. The policy is expected to provide a legal framework for inclusion, protection and equitable development.
Ruto paired the policy with immediate financial commitments. He unveiled a KSh500 million National Minority Scholarship Programme to fund secondary and tertiary education for children from indigent minority communities.
The Ministry of Education, he said, will also set aside KSh200 million every year to build, upgrade and equip schools in marginalised regions.
In healthcare, the government will pay Social Health Authority contributions for 200,000 vulnerable people drawn from minority and marginalised communities, extending access to essential services.
The announcements come as Ruto intensifies his outreach to voting blocs traditionally sidelined in national politics, with the 2027 polls drawing closer.
While leaders present welcomed the pledges, some warned that minority communities have heard similar promises before.
“Implementation is what will count,” said one representative. “Our people want results, not declarations.”
The State House meeting blended inclusion rhetoric with electoral calculation, as Ruto positions himself early in a contest where small communities could once again prove decisive.
