President William Ruto on Monday sought to woo the youth vote, saying young Kenyans had rejected tribal politics and were demanding tangible opportunities rather than seasonal campaign rhetoric.
Speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu, where he presided over the disbursement of Sh220 million in NYOTA business start-up capital, Ruto said the youth could no longer be treated as mere numbers on a ballot paper, mobilised during elections and forgotten thereafter.
“Our young people have outgrown the tired mathematics of tribe and the small thinking of yesterday’s politics,” the President said, describing them as a generation impatient for opportunity and ready to shoulder responsibility.
The funds were shared among 8,820 beneficiaries drawn from Siaya, Kisumu and Homa Bay counties, targeting youth-led enterprises in what the government says is a structured, nationwide push to unlock economic opportunities.
Ruto said his administration had rolled out deliberate programmes aimed at addressing youth unemployment, including the NYOTA initiative, expansion of digital jobs, affordable housing projects and bilateral labour agreements that are opening employment opportunities beyond Kenya’s borders.
He urged young people to take advantage of the programmes, saying the government was creating pathways for enterprise growth and skills development in response to changing economic realities.
The President argued that the traditional public sector could no longer absorb the growing number of job seekers, making entrepreneurship and skills-based employment critical to sustaining growth.
The remarks come amid growing frustration among young people over unemployment and the rising cost of living, with many accusing leaders of recycling old political slogans without delivering results.
Ruto said his administration remained committed to working with the youth, insisting that economic opportunity must keep pace with ambition as the country pursues its bottom-up economic agenda.
