President William Ruto was on Thursday afternoon forced to halt his address momentarily after Members of Parliament broke into chants.
The President was in the middle of giving his State of the Nation address as required constitutionally.
As he laid out his report and plans for the country, a section of legislators started chanting "Fire! Fire! Fire!" slogans.
During his address, the President insisted that Kenya has made “commendable progress” over the past three years but is still performing “below its true weight,” urging the country to abandon what he called a culture of “small thinking and ordinary expectations.”
Ruto said he was shifting from “a vision to sell” to “a story to tell,” reflecting on Kenya’s 62-year journey of “struggles, hardships, triumphs and milestones.”
“I reflected deeply on the long road we have travelled as a nation,” he said. “From this reflection came one truth: we have made commendable progress, but Kenya is still below its true weight.”
The president called for a new national mindset anchored on ambition and courage, saying it was time to push beyond mediocrity.
“We must cast off the prevailing mindset of being content with the average,” he told lawmakers.
“We must step beyond the comfort of the familiar and the ordinary, and reach—with courage, clarity and conviction—for nothing less than excellence and greatness.”
Ruto acknowledged the turbulence of the past three years, marked by political disagreements, compromises, and what he described as “storms that none of us invited.” He said, despite the difficulties, the country had laid the foundations for economic recovery.
The president said his administration had taken “bold and sometimes difficult decisions,” including ending what he called wasteful subsidies and tightening revenue collection.
“We acted,” he said. “We limited wasteful subsidies, strengthened revenue collection, and placed our economy on the path to recovery.”
Ruto noted that inflation had “steadily declined to 4.2 per cent,” which he described as evidence that “the tough choices are working.”
Ruto, who arrived at Parliament shortly after 2pm accompanied by First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto, was received by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Chief of Defence Forces General Charles Kahariri.
