President Ruto Announces Dualling of Kapsabet-Chavakali Highway Soon

President William Ruto has said that Kapsabet-Chavakali Highway will be dualled in the coming days.

Speaking in Kapsabet while attending a service at the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Kapsabet Diocese in Nandi County, Ruto said the aim is to ease transport and open up the adjoining areas to economic viability.

It is part of the larger Chavakali-Kapsabet-Eldoret stretch that runs for about 100 kilometres and links the counties of Vihiga, Nandi, and Uasin Gishu.

The Chavakali-Kapsabet section has for years been regarded as a death trap because of its state. It is known for its many potholes and narrowness, which have contributed to accidents in the past.

Prior to Ruto's pronouncement, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) had marked the road for rehabilitation under a World Bank programme.

The president noted that the route had become old and narrow and that it should be widened to a four-lane road.

"The road from Eldoret through Kapsabet to Chavakali, which has become very old and narrow, I agree that this route is a prime candidate for expansion into a four-lane highway, which will make travel much easier," he said.

The work is expected to cover the dualling of the Eldoret-Kapsabet and Kapsabet-Chavakali sections. Chavakali, in Vihiga County, sits on the route toward Kisumu and the rest of western Kenya.

Ruto said western Kenya has long suffered from poor road networks, and he linked that to the main highway from Nairobi through Nakuru and Eldoret to Malaba. A branch at Mau Summit leads to Kericho and Kisumu.

"We face a major challenge regarding the main highway that runs from Nairobi to Nakuru and Eldoret, extending toward Malaba, with a branch at Mau Summit that leads to Kericho and Kisumu, and another continuing toward Malaba. We have waited for many years, but I want to assure you that the first phase, from Nairobi to Mau Summit, will be completed by next year," he said.

The first phase covers the stretch between Rironi and Mau Summit, which has been a major bottleneck on the route to western Kenya and Uganda.

Ruto said he would launch it once it is done and then begin the next stage of the project somewhere next year.

That stage would take the road on to Eldoret and widen it, in a plan meant to change how goods and people move through the Rift Valley.

"Once I launch that completed section, I will initiate the next phase, extending the road to Eldoret, upgrading it to four lanes, and in some sections, six lanes, to transform our nation of Kenya through the infrastructure we are developing," he said.

He said the money would come from the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), which was set up earlier this year under the National Infrastructure Fund Act, 2026.

NIF aims to raise about KSh 5 trillion over the next decade from government allocations, private investment, privatisation proceeds, grants and loans.

Ruto is on record revealing that KSh 350 billion has been mobilised for the kitty thus far, including KSh 106 billion from the Kenya Pipeline Company share offer and KSh 244 billion from the Safaricom share sale.

The president said he would use the fund to build roads across western Kenya and the Rift Valley, as well as other regions, so as to open them up for economic activity. Roads must be commercially viable to qualify, he said.

"Through the special fund we have established, which is part of our roadmap for Kenya's progress over the next five to seven years, we will be able to construct roads that are commercially viable. This will allow us to build major highways that help unlock the economy of our nation, Kenya. Among those roads, we want to ensure that the road from Eldoret to Kapsabet and on to Chavakali is developed so that this area, too, can open up," Ruto said.