Exercise Great Caution - President Ruto Warned Ahead of State of the Nation Address

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua has issued a warning to President William Ruto ahead of Thursday’s State of the Nation Address.

In a statement on Wednesday, November 19, Wambua urged Ruto to approach the moment with sensitivity, noting that Kenyans are struggling with corruption, heavy taxes, and broken promises.

"Tomorrow, Thursday November 20, 2025, H.E. President Dr. William Samoei Ruto, CGH, will be discharging his constitutional mandate under Article 132 of the CoK 2010. As fate would have it, the state of the nation address by the President comes at a time when Kenyans in every corner of the country are heavily burdened by the weight of corruption, heavy taxation leading to mass erosion of people’s purchasing power, unfulfilled promises and shattered dreams," he said.

Wambua urged Ruto to be extremely careful in his remarks, saying the country is on the brink of hopelessness and needs genuine reassurance from its leader.

"As the Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, I call on the President to summon and exercise great caution in his pronouncements to the nation tomorrow. I hope and wish that the President would use the floor of the August house to speak real hope to a nation that is tottering on the edge of hopelessness; a people grossly frustrated by both the actions and inactions of state and state actors on basic human and peoples rights,' he continued.

Wambua warned that Kenyans are already stretched to the limit by taxes, saying any new attempts to raise revenue through additional levies would be unbearable for families, workers, and businesses.

"Kenyans are already overtaxed and any new measure to squeeze a penny out of Kenyans would be too much to bear for salaried Kenyans, businesses and indeed all Kenyans who have to contribute to national revenue through the purchase of the most ordinary and basic goods and services. The attack on the Kenyan payslip by this regime is a major blow to every household in this country," he added.

Wambua cautioned Ruto against using the address to push for the proposed Infrastructure Development Fund, saying Kenyans cannot handle any more financial burdens.

"I hope that the President will not be using the floor of the National Assembly tomorrow to popularise his newest invention to raid people’s incomes through the so-called Infrastructure Development Fund. Kenyans cannot bear another Fund, another Levy or another Loan," he further said.

Wambua also accused the government of being too eager to sell strategic national assets, calling the trend irresponsible and dangerous for future generations.

"The President will be addressing the nation at a time that his administration has manifested the greatest appetite for the sale of strategic public assets. This regime is behaving as though Kenya as we know it begins with the Ruto administration and will end with the Ruto administration. 

"Of course there was Kenya before President Ruto occupied office following the 2022 presidential elections and there will be Kenya after President Ruto serves his term in office; preferably One Term," he noted.

Wambua also questioned the logic of financing budgets through asset sales, warning that such an approach would leave nothing for future generations and amounts to greed.

"So to advance the argument that this regime wants to sell strategic national assets including the Kenya Pipeline ostensibly to finance an annual budget is to be too short sighted. So if we sell Kenya Pipeline to finance the 2025/2026 annual budget, what shall we sell to finance the 2026/2027 annual budget and the other annual budgets to follow? What will our children and our children’s children sell to finance annual budgets in their time? This is not just appetite, it is greed and it must be tamed," he stated.

Wambua further criticised the state of the education sector, saying it has deteriorated sharply under the current administration and requires urgent intervention.

"The education system right from basic to tertiary education is in a mess under this regime. I hope, against hope, that in his address to the nation tomorrow, President Ruto will breath life to this very important sector of our nation," he said.

Wambua concluded by urging Ruto to rise above political confrontations and embrace the role of a unifying leader, including refraining from insulting critics during public engagements.

"Lastly, I urge Dr. William Samoei Ruto, CGH, to act presidential and try to be the real symbol of national stability. To play the role of the father of the nation. One, he must find reason in his engagements with the public to desist from insulting leaders who are opposed to his style of leadership. It depicts him as an intolerant and a desperate leader when he publicly insults his opponents and even laughs about it," he concluded.

Ruto is set to deliver this year’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday following a formal notification by the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate.

"Whereas, Article 132 (1) (b) of the Constitution requires the President to address a Special Sitting of Parliament once every year; and whereas, following a notification by His Excellency William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Speaker of the Senate have convened a special sitting of the Houses of Parliament to be held on Thursday, 20th November, 2025 commencing at 2.30 p.m. for purposes of the President's address," Speakers Moses Wetang’ula and Amason Kingi said in a joint notice.

The Speakers also outlined the standing orders guiding such sittings, noting that both Houses are required to notify their members and the public in advance of the scheduled session.

"Further whereas, Standing Order 22(2) of the National Assembly Standing Orders and Standing Order 25(2) of the Senate Standing Orders require the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament to, respectively, notify Members of Parliament of the place, date, and time of a special sitting of the Houses of Parliament convened under Article 132(1) (b) of the Constitution," the notice added.

As such, the speakers of the two Houses issued a formal announcement of the sitting’s details.

"Now therefore, Members of Parliament and the general public are hereby notified that a Special Sitting of Parliament shall be held in the National Assembly Chamber, Main Parliament Building, Nairobi, on Thursday, 20th November, 2025 at 2.30 p.m," the notice concluded.