History remembers leaders not for comfort but for courage. Transformative figures share three traits: they disrupt the status quo, they execute under extreme constraints, and they envision a future beyond the present horizon.
From America’s founders who broke free
from empire to the Asian Tigers who charted their own industrial path, progress has always meant
unsettling the present to unlock the future.
Kenya today stands at such a moment of reckoning.
In his first three years, President William
Ruto has chosen disruption
not as chaos but as a deliberate catalyst for reform and renewal.
His style blends radical change with pragmatic execution and
aspirational vision—a rare mix that has begun reshaping Kenya’s politics and economy
at a critical juncture.
This philosophical grounding is not foreign to Kenya. At Independence, leaders faced the ideological question of how to grow. Through Sessional Paper No 10 of 1965, the nation adopted African Socialism – a uniquely Kenyan philosophy rooted in democracy, dignity, mutual responsibility and a mixed economy.
Today, the Hustler Nation revives that founding debate with 21st-century urgency:
what kind of economy should
Kenya build, who should it serve and how should resources be shared?
By re-centring politics on ordinary
Kenyans – farmers, teachers, traders, boda boda operators and the youth – the
President has reopened the nation’s most fundamental questions. His
restructuring of subsidies, unpopular but necessary, reflects
the very essence
of radical leadership: rarely comfortable, often
contentious, but always defined by courage to make privileged enemies to secure a fairer system for
the majority.
Yet disruption alone is not enough. Practical
governance is what sustains nations. Confronted with public debt, food
insecurity and joblessness, the President has anchored reforms in agriculture,
affordable housing, Universal Health Coverage and MSME empowerment.
The Hustler Fund, offering micro-credit to citizens excluded from the banking system, directly challenges a decades-old financial order. Already, thousands of small traders have accessed credit and invested in their livelihoods – a quiet but powerful revolution in grassroots empowerment.
Other nations offer useful mirrors. During the Great Depression, Franklin D Roosevelt dared to launch the New Deal despite fierce opposition. He showed that radical courage, even when unpopular, can stabilise a nation and restore hope.
Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore proved that disciplined, practical execution – not
rhetoric – can transform a struggling society into an economic
powerhouse. And Mahatma
Gandhi envisioned empowerment from the village outward, insisting that
prosperity must begin at the grassroots. These leaders illustrate what
President Ruto is attempting: radical enough to disrupt, practical enough to execute and visionary enough to dream beyond the present.
Unlike populists who promise without
delivery, President Ruto has favoured execution. His frequent county tours – where he listens, launches projects and measures progress firsthand – show a
leader deeply invested in service, not spectacle. Practicality for him means choosing
sustainability over applause, and patient reforms over quick fixes.
The results are becoming evident with
Kenya’s GDP expanding to over Sh17 trillion,
cementing its position
as East and Central Africa’s largest economy and sixth in
Africa. Inflation has dropped sharply from 9.6 per cent in October 2022 to 4.1 per cent as of
today, easing the cost of living for ordinary households.
The shilling, once battered, has
stabilised, while foreign exchange reserves stand at $11.8 billion,
safeguarding imports and trade. Farmers' productivity is at an all-time high, intensively boosted by the fertiliser subsidy programme, with maize production in
the North Rift and Western Kenya hitting
record surpluses.
Incidents of cattle rustling have
reduced by over 70 per cent on account of Operation Maliza Uhalifu—a strategic
approach incorporating peace dialogues, disarmament and the deployment of
community policing units. Markets
once abandoned in Turkana and West Pokot are thriving again, and schools that had closed due to insecurity are reopening.
The once barely attainable Universal Health Coverage is now in hand as Kenya rolled out Taifa Care, bringing under the Social Health Authority over 25 million citizens, a number triple its preceding NHIF. Families can access healthcare without catastrophic costs. Over 7,500 new healthcare workers have been recruited and deployed, reducing doctor-to-patient ratios, while digital health records are improving efficiency in county hospitals.
Kenya’s voice has also grown abroad. The Africa Climate Summit and its leadership within the AU have placed the country at the front row of continental diplomacy. From climate action to regional trade and peace mediation, Kenya now plays a bridging role that strengthens both its global standing and its domestic economy. For a nation long seen as a follower, this renewed assertiveness has repositioned Kenya as a leader.
Recognising that the challenges remain stark: debt, unemployment, food insecurity and climate shocks, Kenya’s history will not remember the comfortable or the cautiously populist. It will remember those radical in courage, practical in action and visionary in purpose to place the nation firmly in the future. In this moment, President Ruto stands as all three.
The writer is the Principal Secretary, State Department of Internal Security and National Administration
