Ruto: I will accept outcome of 2027 elections

President William Ruto has vowed to accept the outcome of the 2027 general elections that are just under 14 months away.

Ruto, who presided over the fourth National Prayer breakfast under the Kenya Kwanza administration yesterday, said he would concede defeat should he lose in the forthcoming elections but would also take up his second term with vigour should he be voted in for a second term.

Speaking during a session characterised by calls for political tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, the Head of State also took the opportunity to outline his government’s agenda in a bid to woo support from the public ahead of the high-stakes general polls.

The event was graced by President William Ruto, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Chief Justice Martha Koome, Speaker Moses Wetangula (National Assembly) and Amason Kingi (Senate), Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and a host of Governors and lawmakers. Reverend Chris Rwakasisi from Uganda was the keynote speaker.

“I want to say that in 2027, we are going to have elections and they will be peaceful. There will be no violence and they will be free and fair. Because what God has decided, no man can change. So, relax. People are in a panic; I don't know why. What God has decided will happen. If God has decided, Ruto will get a second term; he will. If God has decided otherwise, that's what will happen. And we will move on as a country. There is no problem. To those who believe they will divide this country, they will not. They will not succeed,” stated Ruto amid thunderous applause.

 His sentiments were a thinly veiled message to the opposition, which has rallied its troops ahead of the 2027 general elections with the intent to vote out President Ruto and relegate him to a one-term presidency. The former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua-led opposition has consistently accused the Head of state of driving the country in the wrong direction, driving the economy into the ground, overseeing wanton graft in his administration and a lack of regard for human life- evidenced by the numerous extra-judicial police killings, especially against dissenting voices.

But in his address yesterday, President Ruto painted a picture of a nation on the rise and whose future was full of nothing but promise. While highlighting what he termed as major achievements by his administration in sectors such as Health, Agriculture and Housing in the last three years, he talked of mega plans to transform the country and lessen Kenyans’ tax burden.

Key among them was a proposal to scrap the Pay as You Earn (P.A.Y.E) tax for Kenyans earning Sh30,000 and below. He also spoke of the government's efforts to stabilise the fuel crisis and of advanced plans to set up an oil refinery in the country as a long-term measure to deal with the fuel crisis.

“We will be putting a proposal before Parliament to cushion all low-income earners taking home Sh24,000. They have been paying PAYE at 10 per cent. We are saying they will not be paying anymore. In fact, that category of people earning Sh30,000 or less will not be paying any taxes because we are using much more innovative ways of driving our development,” announced the President. 

“On the fuel crisis, we have a long-term plan; we have found a mechanism to ensure that our oil in Turkana and elsewhere is going to be refined here. When I sent my team about six months ago to look around, they came across Aliko Dangote and what he's doing. They came back to me and I reached out to President Museveni and I have reached out to colleagues in this region and we have agreed. And this year, we are going to start building the refinery here. I had a chat with Mr Dangote yesterday and he was telling me how much resistance has been built by the people we are buying fuel from now. Because they want us to continue buying their fuel. But we have to make those decisions that will change our country, that will transform our country,” Ruto reiterated.

The President also struck a reconciliatory tone with the nation, with his utterances pointing to a man seeking the public’s revalidation of his administration. In his speech, he also buttressed the need for Kenyans to believe in their country and its transformative agenda, simultaneously refuting claims from critics that Kenya was a failed State.

“I can proudly stand on this podium that we have mobilised our own resources to drive some of the fundamental development that we have undertaken in the last three years. Our own resources. We haven't borrowed from the IMF. We haven't borrowed from the World Bank. We have driven our housing program. For example, a project that is now Sh600 billion with our own money. Yes. We have mobilised our own money. We are building the Talanta stadium not with borrowed money, but with our own money. We are building the Bomas of Kenya with our own money and we are driving universal health coverage,” remarked Ruto.

“…I was looking at the numbers. In the last one and a half years, we've paid Sh150 billion to our health facilities. Our own money. Let us believe in ourselves. Let us believe in our country. That's what I tell the citizens of our nation. We can do it. We have the capacity to do it and others are going to learn from us.”

The Head of State also sought to set the record straight on his meeting with leaders in the transport sector amid accusations that they were compromised to call off the Matatu strike.

“I had an opportunity to meet with our transport sector leaders last week on the fuel crisis. And I sat down with them for about two and a half to three hours in Mombasa. And I explained to them where we were, what the issues are. And I explained to them that today we have fuel in all our petrol stations, unlike other countries. Today, we're subsidising Sh40 plus shillings for every litre. We've spent Sh28 billion in the last two months. And we've done it with prudence.  When we finished, they told me, Mr President, we are going to call off the strike. I did not tell them to call off the strike,” explained Ruto.

On his part, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki called on leaders to adhere to words in the bible which emphasise leading with faith and pure intent.

“We need to reflect on what we do after this meeting and breakfast. The bible tells us that after we have exercised our faith, let go and do what God wants us to do. Whatever he tells us to do, let us go and do it,” said Kindiki.

Senator Oburu Odinga underscored the need for reconciliation in the political arena ahead of the 2027 elections.

“We should take political competition as a brotherly exercise …don’t make political competition enmity. It is not. That is why President Ruto was the competitor of my brother in the last election and I never dreamt that I would ever sit down with him across the table. I believed that, maybe wrongly, he (Ruto) stole the election, but today we are together in a broad-based government. The vision that my brother had for this country, we are going to continue implementing. Even though some people are pulling me back and forth, I am steady and will continue working together,” stated Oburu.