Ruto Says Tough Choices Were Needed to Protect Kenya From Debt Crisis

Kenya, 2 December 2025 - President William Ruto has defended the difficult economic decisions taken by his administration, saying they were necessary to ensure Kenya did not default on its national debts and fall into financial crisis.

Speaking at State House on Tuesday during the presentation of the Jukwaa la Usalama report, the President said he found the economy “on the edge” when he assumed office — with high inflation, shrinking foreign reserves and a rapidly weakening shilling.

“When someone is given work, they must do the work,” he said.

“You elected me to solve economic problems, and that is what I had to face from day one.”

Ruto said that before his government made any changes, key indicators were already pointing to danger.

“We had debts, inflation at 9.6%, the dollar at 167, and our foreign reserves had dropped to 5.7 billion dollars,” he said.

“We could not continue like that.”

The President recalled a conversation with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who asked him what Kenya would do if it reached a point where it could not repay its loans.

“I told him Kenya will not be defeated,” Ruto said.

“We refused to be the country that would default.”