1.I have never looked forward to a new year the way I look forward to
2026.
2.I do not say this lightly. I say it from a place of conviction, born of
what we have achieved together, the foundations we have laid, and
the certainty that those foundations now allow us, finally, to reach
for our highest ideals as a nation.
3.This has been a year that tested our resolve and our collective
purpose, a year that demanded sacrifice and called for unity. As your
President, I am proud to say that together, we rose to the occasion.
4.When I addressed the nation at this time last year, I outlined the
decisive measures we had taken in 2023 and 2024 not only to
stabilise our economy, but also to begin turning it around. I said then
that 2025 would be the year when we would start earning the
dividends of the hard work we had undertaken together since 2023.
And indeed, looking back, this has been the year in which our
deliberate choices, sometimes difficult and often demanding, began
to pay off.
5. For the first time in a long while, Kenya is not guessing. We are not
drifting. We are not gambling. We have set our targets. We have
begun the journey. And we now have a clear roadmap to make 2026
a defining year in Kenya’s history.
6.Tonight, fellow Citizens, this is not just a customary New Year’s
address. It is a moment that calls on all of us to seize the opportunity
before us, to walk together, as one people, and to complete a journey
that has been delayed for far too long.
7. 2026 will be a watershed year in the story of our Republic. A turning
point in our march from promise to prosperity. A year that future
generations will look back on and say; that is when Kenya changed
course.
8. We can speak of this moment with confidence because we are not
starting from nothing. We are building on a solid foundation already
laid.
9. Step by step, we confronted difficulties, carved out opportunities,
and laid a strong and formidable base for the future of our country.
10. But the story of 2025 is not merely about numbers or statistics. It is
about people, the hustlers; the mama mbogas, the boda boda
riders, the farmers, the traders, the entrepreneurs,
and the workers, whose toil, patience, and sacrifice have begun to
yield tangible results. It is the story of ordinary citizens whose lives
have quietly changed in very extraordinary ways.
11. Kenyans like Mama Jerusha Muthoni, whose dream of owning a
decent home finally came true. For years, her family lived in a single
crowded room, exposed to rain and cold, indignity and fear, never
knowing what tomorrow might bring. In 2025, that chapter ended.
She moved into a modern, affordable home with clean water,
electricity, a proper toilet, and cooking gas. For the first time, her
children have space to study. Dignity replaced survival.
12. The foundations we have laid have also enabled millions to
access quality health services under our universal healthcare
programme. Today, more than 29 million Kenyans are registered
under the Social Health Authority. Across the country, stories of care,
relief, dignity, and support are being told, quietly and powerfully, by
ordinary citizens whose lives have been transformed.
13. Stories like that of Naomi Mutendwa Kilunda, a single mother of six,
who watched her 17-year-old daughter, Lydia, struggle daily with a
severe and abnormal breast overgrowth that caused pain, limited
mobility, and emotional distress. After learning about the SHA
through her local assistant chief, Naomi enrolled and registered her
children as dependents. Lydia was treated at Kenyatta National
Hospital, where SHA fully covered the cost of her specialised
corrective surgery, amounting to KSh 168,000, as well as all post
operative follow-up care. No out-of-pocket payment was required.
Lydia has since recovered well, regained her confidence and dignity,
and is preparing to resume her education in this new year as she
joins Form Four.
14. In Kisumu, Christine Awino Onyango, a 41-year-old widow, mother
of five, and a mama mboga, faced a life-threatening diagnosis of
Stage II oesophageal cancer. As a registered SHA member
contributing KSh 7,000 annually, Christine received comprehensive
treatment at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral
Hospital. SHA covered medical costs exceeding KSh 250,000,
including diagnostic tests, specialised surgery, five days of intensive
care, and inpatient and post-operative management. Her
chemotherapy, scheduled to begin on January 15, will also be fully
covered.
15. These are not isolated stories. They reflect the experiences millions
of other Kenyans who have benefited from outcomes of deliberate
policy choices.
16. Ladies and gentlemen, for too long, farming was a gamble rather
than an investment. Farmers planted and prayed, never certain
whether the harvest would even cover costs. That story
has changed. With affordable fertiliser and certified seeds reaching
millions, yields have improved significantly.
17.Food production rose significantly. Maize harvests are on course to
reach historic highs. Tea earnings surged. Coffee prices nearly
doubled. Sugar production grew as imports fell. Livestock, dairy,
leather, and meat exports expanded steadily.
18. We expanded educational opportunity through reformed, merit
based systems. And we helped nearly a million Kenyans access jobs
through housing, labour mobility, and the digital economy, with
many more opportunities coming in 2026 and beyond.
19. But even as we acknowledge this progress, 2025 was not defined by
success alone. It was also a challenging year, one that tested our
unity and reminded us of the responsibility that comes with freedom
and democracy. The events of June and July, and the regrettable
loss of lives and destruction of property, left a stain on our national
conscience.
20. Our Constitution guarantees every Kenyan the right to express
themselves, to assemble, and to participate freely in our democracy.
But it also imposes duties on citizens and leaders alike to uphold the
rule of law, protect life and property, and safeguard peace and
stability. Rights and responsibilities are inseparable.
In a thriving democracy, debate and dissent are legitimate and
necessary. But our Constitution does not license violence,
destruction, or criminality. Differences must never degenerate into
disorder that threatens the peace we cherish.
22. Those entrusted with leadership carry a heightened duty to unite
rather than divide, to build rather than burn. Kenya is bigger than
any individual, any office, or any ambition. This Republic belongs to
all of us, and because it belongs to all of us, we share a duty to
protect it.
23. Ladies and Gentlemen, as I announced during the State of the Nation
Address, 2026 marks the moment when our journey to transform
Kenya into a first-world economy begins in earnest. What matters
now is execution.
24. But to speak honestly about the future, we must begin with the truth
about the present. Today, nearly four in every ten Kenyans live below
the poverty line. That is more than twenty million of our people,
families working hard, yet struggling to meet basic needs.
25. While we have undertaken deliberate policy interventions to create
employment under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation
Agenda, too many of our young people, especially those entering the
job market, still wake up every morning without work to go to. This
is the reality we are determined to change.
26. When a nation chooses to organise its economy around work,
production, and exports, when it invests deliberately in
infrastructure, energy, and skills, and when it finances growth
intelligently, not recklessly, something profound happens.
27. Poverty recedes, jobs expand, and dignity rises.
28. This is not a theory. History shows us that countries like South Korea,
Singapore, and Malaysia made national transformation a deliberate
choice. Each organised its economy around work, industry, exports,
and skills, investing deliberately in infrastructure and people. Poverty
fell. Jobs grew. Strong middle classes emerged.
29. These countries were not spared hardship; they prevailed despite it.
Their
success
was
built
on
elevated
ambition, relentless determination, and sustained action over time.
That is the path we have chosen for Kenya, and that is the future we
are determined to build.
30. So let us be clear about our goals. We are committing ourselves to a
measurable national mission:
I. To cut the number of Kenyans living below the poverty line by
half, lifting millions into dignity and opportunity.
II. To cut unemployment by half, ensuring that millions of our
citizens are productive, earning, and contributing.
31. And we will do this without crushing taxpayers and without saddling
our children with unsustainable debt.
32. That is why, in January 2026, we will fully establish and
operationalise the National Infrastructure Fund and the Sovereign
Wealth Fund; key instruments designed to underpin Kenya’s
transformation.
33. The National Infrastructure Fund will serve as the central engine for
aligning our financial resources with Kenya’s development priorities.
34. Through innovative mobilisation of domestic resources, strategic
monetisation of mature public assets, democratisation of ownership
through
capital
markets,
and
the
disciplined growing
and deployment of national savings, we will unlock large-scale
private sector capital while reducing reliance on borrowing and
taxation.
35. All proceeds from privatisation will be ring-fenced and invested
strictly in public infrastructure projects that generate and preserve
long-term value. Every shilling invested through this Fund will crowd
in multiple additional shillings from long-term investors in the private
sector.
36. Alongside this, the Sovereign Wealth Fund will, for the first
time, secure intergenerational equity, saving for the future,
protecting the nation from external shocks, and investing
strategically to grow national wealth, giving full effect to Article 201
of our Constitution.
37. Together, these two Funds will enhance by multiples the financing
of Kenya’s development agenda
and accelerate
our bottom
up transformation as we charge forward, full steam, to economic
freedom and a first-world economy.
38. Through this framework, 2026 becomes the year of execution at
scale. In this new year, we will complete the Talanta Sports Complex,
ready to host major international sporting events, including the 2027
AFCON.
We will also complete the state-of-the-art Bomas International
Convention Centre, restoring it as a premier venue for national and
international conferences, and positioning Kenya as the region’s hub
for international events.
39. We will accelerate the tarmacking of the 6,000 KMs of roads already
contracted and underway across the country, including the Rironi
Mau Summit Road, which will be completed and open to traffic by
mid 2027. At the same time, we will start the construction of several
new highways countrywide.
40. Ladies and gentlemen, in this new year, we will also commence the
construction of the Naivasha-Narok-Bomet-Nyamira-Kisumu-Malaba
Standard Gauge Railway, creating a modern transport and logistics
corridor linking Kenya to the east and central Africa region.
41. Equally, we will launch the Galana-Kulalu Dam, whose contract was
signed yesterday, and several others as part of the expansion of our
irrigation infrastructure across the country, with the ultimate
objective of bringing 2.5 million acres of land under irrigation.
42. We will also begin the construction of a modern, world-class airport
at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, to anchor our nation as
the aviation capital of our region and to boost our trade and tourism
sectors.
43. Ladies and Gentlemen, changing and transforming a country does
not require a miracle. It requires a clear and bold vision, and a
leadership equal to that vision. The nations that have succeeded
were not exceptional by accident; they were deliberate by choice.
Fellow citizens, allow me to address a silent but deadly crisis
confronting our nation today. Alcohol and drug abuse have become
a clear and present danger to Kenya’s health, security, and economic
future.
45. One in every six Kenyans aged between 15 and 65, that is over 4.7
million people, is currently using at least one drug or substance of
abuse. This is no longer a marginal issue; it is a national emergency.
46. The burden falls heaviest on men and young people. One in every
three Kenyan men in this age group uses drugs or alcohol. Among
young adults aged 25 to 35, our most productive population, one in
five is affected. Over 1.5 million young Kenyans are being pulled
away from opportunity into dependency.
47. Alcohol remains the most widely used substance, with more than 3.2
million current users. Initiation often occurs between 16 and 20
years, and in some cases as early as seven, exposing children to
lifelong harm before adulthood begins.
48. Kenya cannot grow, compete, or remain secure when millions are
trapped in addiction. This crisis demands decisive national action.
49. Accordingly, going into the new year, the Government will confront
alcohol and drug abuse as a national development and security
emergency, backed by political will, expanded enforcement capacity,
and coordinated action across the Government.
We will establish a strengthened Anti-Narcotics Unit within the
Directorate of Criminal Investigations, with operational capacity
comparable to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit. Fully resourced with
modern surveillance, intelligence, forensic, and financial
investigation capabilities, the unit will operate as a permanent, multi
agency formation working closely with the National Authority for the
Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), the National
Intelligence Service, Dorder Management Agencies, County
Governments and International Partners.
51. To support this expansion, the unit’s strength will be boosted from
the current 200 to 700 officers through new recruitment and
redeployment, all trained and equipped for nationwide operations
against high-level traffickers, financiers, and organised criminal
networks.
52. Asset tracing, seizure, and forfeiture will become central to every
narcotic and illicit alcohol investigation. The Assets Recovery Agency
will be engaged from the point of seizure, and all assets used in or
acquired through these activities, including cash, vehicles, land,
buildings, and businesses, will be treated as proceeds of crime,
promptly frozen, prosecuted, forfeited to the State, and redirected to
rehabilitation, prevention, and treatment programmes.
53. Recognising these crimes as organised criminal enterprises, I urge
the Judiciary to consider establishing specialised courts to fast-track
cases, and I will consult with the Chief Justice on how the Executive
can support this effort, including resourcing, while fully respecting
judicial independence.
Border security will be strengthened through enhanced capacity for
the Border Patrol Unit and the National Police Service, including
modern surveillance technologies to monitor movement across our
borders.
55. Finally, to safeguard integrity within the security services, any
government official, including security officers, found culpable of
facilitating, protecting, or colluding with drug traffickers or illicit
alcohol networks will be prosecuted and dismissed forthwith from
service.
56. Fellow citizens, this struggle is deeply personal to me, as your
President, and as a parent. No law can replace parental guidance,
community values, or early intervention in the lives of our children.
57. We must choose to be present in the lives of our children; to guide
them, protect them, and intervene early, before addiction takes hold.
If we fail to act, we fail our children; if we rise to this duty, we secure
not only their future, but the moral strength and destiny of our
nation.
58. And just as we demand responsibility in our homes, we must demand
the same, at an even higher standard, from those entrusted with
leadership in our public life.
59. I reiterate that 2026 and the years beyond will usher in a period of
accountability. Leadership will be judged not by promises made, but
by performance delivered; not by the exuberance of youth or the
longevity of service, but by results and a proven track record.
60. Those entrusted with the privilege of leadership will be held to
account for the service they render and the outcomes they deliver to
the people; not for excuses crafted to mask a poverty of ideas or lack
of ambition. The measure of leadership is impact, and that standard
will apply to all.
Happy New Year 2026
May God bless you all
May God bless Kenya
I thank you.