Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta (left)with President Ruto at state house in the recent past.
By Micah Sali.
NAIROBI
Public debt is Kenya’s favorite horror movie. Every few months we scream at the trillions, faint at the graphs and swear the nation is finished.
The latest villain? President William Ruto who in just three years has borrowed about Sh3 trillion — nearly half of what Uhuru Kenyatta accumulated in a decade.
Shocking? Yes.
However before you hyperventilate, check whether that debt bought a coffin or a road.
The Debt Drama, in Numbers:
2013: Kenya owed Sh1.8 trillion.
2022: Uhuru left us with Sh8.7 trillion.
2025: Ruto’s tally has crossed Sh11 trillion.
That’s about Sh3 trillion in record time enough to make you choke on your morning mandazi but we all know that not all trillions are created equal.
Uhuru’s Instagram Projects vs Ruto’s Village Tarmac:
Uhuru’s signature was mega, photogenic projects: the Standard Gauge Railway, Nairobi Expressway, Konza technopolis all perfect for ribbon-cutting ceremonies, drone footage and glossy brochures.
Unless you lived near Nairobi or Mt. Kenya your share of the debt was applause from the sidelines.
Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is less glamorous but more practical.
Rural roads, irrigation dams, markets, health centers, industrial parks — scattered across 47 counties; not Instagram-worthy but boda-worthy.
You may not ride a shiny train but you’ll ride your boda on fresh tarmac.
Why the Outrage is Selective:
Kenyans don’t hate debtbut we hate debt we can’t see. If the billions are tied up in Syokimau trains and not in our village roads we complain.
If they pave the feeder road outside our homestead or within our constituency then we cheer. Hypocrisy, thy name is Kenya.
Think of borrowing like a farmer taking a loan for cows. Uhuru bought one pedigree cow and locked it in Nairobi. Ruto bought 47 scruffy cows and distributed them across counties.
Some will give milk, some might die, but at least everyone gets a chance to milk one.
The Real Villain Isn’t Borrowing but the real scandal is whether the projects are completed, useful and corruption-free.
A half-done dam is not irrigation ;it’s a mosquito factory.
A half-built road is not development;it’s a dust trap.
Unless audits are real, debt only fattens tenderpreneurs.
Bottom Line
Yes, Ruto borrows faster and harder than Uhuru.
Uhuru left Nairobi a railway selfie, Ruto is leaving counties tarmac and water pumps.
If Kenyans want to panic, panic about accountability not just arithmetic since the truth is we love to cry about debt — right up until we boda across the very road it built.
Debt vs Development
What Kenyans Got for Their Trillions
Debt Growth: Where the Money Went, What You Got, Who Benefited Most,
Uhuru (2013–2022) Sh1.8T → Sh8.7T (+Sh7T) Mega projects: SGR, Expressway, Konza Big shiny “national” icons Nairobi & Mt. Kenya
Ruto (2022–2025) Sh8.7T → Sh11T (+Sh3T in 3 yrs) County projects: rural roads, dams, markets, health centers Hundreds of small, usable projects 47 counties
National Joke:
Under Uhuru, you Instagrammed on the Expressway.
Under Ruto, you finally boda on tarmac in your home village.
