Kenya Defends Its Growth Story as the Numbers Cool

President William Ruto is mounting a vigorous defence of Kenya's economic record after official figures showed growth cooling for a second consecutive year, feeding a debate over whether the country's recovery is reaching ordinary people.

Data from the national statistics office showed the economy expanded 4.6 percent in 2025, down from 4.7 percent in 2024 and 5.7 percent in 2023 — a steady deceleration that critics have seized on. For a government that came to power promising to uplift the 'hustler' economy of small traders and workers, softening growth is a politically sensitive number.

Ruto has pushed back, pointing to flagship initiatives as evidence that his agenda is delivering. Chief among them is the Affordable Housing programme, which the administration says has created more than 640,000 jobs on the way to a target of one million, alongside efforts to expand access to credit and markets for small businesses.

The president has also moved to channel more resources to the grassroots, signing a record allocation of Sh428 billion to the country's 47 counties. The bet is that pushing money closer to citizens will translate into services and opportunities that blunt the sense of economic strain.

The gap between macroeconomic statistics and lived experience is at the heart of the argument. Growth of 4.6 percent is respectable by global standards, but with a fast-growing population and a high cost of living, many Kenyans say they are not feeling it. Bridging that gap — between the data and the dinner table — is the challenge that will define the back half of Ruto's term.