Raila would be implementing same reforms, including SHA, if he were President: Ruto » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 – President William Ruto has said that if ODM leader Raila Odinga had won the 2022 presidential election, he would still be implementing the same reforms being pursued by the Kenya Kwanza administration, including the Social Health Authority (SHA), affordable housing, and education sector changes.

Speaking during the inaugural joint Kenya Kwanza–ODM parliamentary group meeting in Karen, Nairobi, on Monday, Ruto said the challenges he faces as Head of State stem from tough but necessary reforms his government is rolling out.

“I am confident that if Raila had become president, he would be doing what I am doing,” Ruto said.

“He would be implementing SHA, he would be implementing housing, he would be doing reforms in education and agriculture. I know that for a fact because I have been in his school of leadership.”

The President admitted that such policies have dented his popularity but insisted they are vital to steering Kenya toward long-term transformation.

He described his political troubles as “self-imposed,” citing SHA, the new education funding model, and housing projects as the key sources of opposition to his administration.

“If I hadn’t done any of those, I would be a very popular person,” he said. “But without making these hard choices, the country would not have moved anywhere.”

Striking similarity

Ruto noted that the manifestos of Kenya Kwanza and Azimio were strikingly similar, with nearly 70 percent overlap in priorities such as health, education, agriculture, and job creation.

He said Kenya’s problem was not a shortage of ideas but political divisions that often hinder implementation.

“We all know what we should be doing. It is not that we have a shortage of ideas. In fact, we have some of the best manifestos. The difference between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio’s manifestos is hardly 30 percent,” he said.

The President praised Odinga and ODM for joining forces with his administration in support of bipartisan reforms, calling it a demonstration of leadership.

“It may have been easy to do the opposite. It may have been popular to do the opposite. But the Right Honorable Odinga and ODM stood up for Kenya when the country needed leaders to rise above politics,” he said.

Ruto compared Kenya’s development trajectory with that of Singapore and Malaysia, arguing that leadership choices make the difference.

He urged lawmakers to take seriously their “sacred responsibility” to shape Kenya’s future, warning that partisan politics had “taken the country hostage.”

Since assuming office in September 2022, Ruto has rolled out a series of far-reaching reforms, many of them controversial and politically costly.

Opinion polls in 2024 and 2025 have shown growing public discontent, particularly over high taxes and the rising cost of living.