By Abdimalik Hajir - Reporter
June 02, 2026 - President William Ruto has announced that his administration will invest Sh15 billion to build 18 modern markets, 2,000-bed student hostels, and 4,600 affordable housing units across Northern Kenya, as he wrapped up a three-day development tour of the region.
The President said the initiatives will expand economic opportunities, improve living standards, and create jobs for residents in a part of the country that has long complained of marginalisation.
Speaking in Eldas, Wajir County, on the third day of his tour, after presiding over the Madaraka Day celebrations in Wajir, Ruto laid the foundation stone for a 580-bed hostel block at the Eldas Teachers Training College. He also commissioned the KSh460 million Eldas Water Supply Project and committed an additional KSh900 million to further improve water access in the area.
He urged parents across Northern Kenya to take full advantage of the government’s education investments by ensuring their children attend school.
Ruto also assured residents of Northeastern Kenya that they would no longer face excessive vetting when applying for national identity cards, a practice he blamed on previous governments.
“It is my commitment that all development ongoing in other parts of the country must also be implemented in Northern Kenya. We have made a commitment to build a road from Isiolo to Mandera to open up the Northeastern Region,” he told residents at Eldas.
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He insisted that Northeastern Kenya is “part and parcel of Kenya,” and that every road he had promised would be completed, contrary, he said, to opposition claims.
From Eldas, the President travelled to Kotulo, Tarbaj Constituency, where he inspected the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, specifically the 64-kilometre Tarbaj–Kotulo A13 road section.
Speaking after commissioning the road, Ruto accused the opposition of lacking a development agenda and said its leaders were more focused on giving him nicknames than offering solutions to the country’s challenges.
“All they know is one term, Kasongo. They don’t have any plan or manifesto. What they think they have done as important is calling me names,” he said. “Don’t mind the opposition. They don’t have any agenda, and they do not know how to build roads, electricity connections, or provide water.”
The President, who spent his second night at the newly opened Wajir State Lodge, maintained that his administration remains committed to transforming Kenya through infrastructure and economic reforms, while challenging critics to present alternative policies.
He also addressed the local media on the Ebola threat, saying the government had put in place robust measures to safeguard public health and strengthen the country’s emergency response capacity.
Later, Ruto flew to Garissa, where he inspected the ongoing construction of the Garissa–Ijara Road at Sarira, Fafi Constituency, and broke ground for the Maalimin electricity mini-grid in Lagdera Constituency.