Four years after President William Ruto took over the government, his record on the promises he made to Kenyans presents a mixed picture, with some delivered while others remain delayed, altered or unmet.Ruto, who was sworn in as Kenya's fifth President on 13 September 2022, campaigned on an agenda centred on lowering the cost of living, creating jobs, improving healthcare, expanding infrastructure and transforming the economy.With his administration approaching four years in office, a review by Kenyans.co.ke of major campaign promises and subsequent presidential commitments shows a government that has made visible progress in selected areas but has struggled to translate several high-profile pledges into completed outcomes.The review also shows that some commitments cannot yet be judged conclusively because their deadlines fall in 2026 or 2027, while others have been modified after the government changed its approach to achieving the original target. Education is among the sectors where the administration has made progress, particularly through teacher recruitment, but where some of the government's most significant promises remain unresolved.Since Ruto took office, more than 56,000 teachers have been hired as the government seeks to address shortages and transition intern teachers into permanent employment.President Ruto says his government will be employing 35,000 teachers each year until there is no shortage pic.twitter.com/5BAacEIHGs The government has additionally increased the teacher promotion budget to Ksh2 billion, allowing thousands of educators to progress through their careers.However, the government's wider promise to address the teacher shortage remains a work in progress.The administration had also promised 100 per cent government funding for university, college and Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) students. The promise has not been implemented under the original timeline, even as the government now indicates that free university education will begin in January 2027 following proposed legal and policy changes.The shift in approach has raised questions over how the original promise will ultimately be delivered.Infrastructure presents a mixed record, with several major projects under construction while others have been delayed or remain at the planning stage.The Rironi-Mau Summit highway is among the projects where implementation is underway. The 175-kilometre road is currently about 20 per cent complete, while the first phase is expected to be completed by 30 October 2026.However, the full project is now expected to be completed in June 2027, compared with the initial August 2026 deadline announced by the Head of State in November 2025.Ruto's wider pledge to double Kenya's tarmac road network within seven years similarly remains incomplete.In February 2026, Ruto also said he would return to Thika in September to begin construction of the 60-kilometre expressway linking the town to Nairobi."I have a plan. Just as we constructed the expressway from JKIA to Westlands, I will return here in September to begin construction of the expressway from Thika," Ruto said.With September now underway, there has yet to be a major public update confirming that construction has commenced.The proposed 2,000MW nuclear power plant in Siaya is another commitment that remains ahead of its promised implementation timeline. Ruto has said construction will begin in 2027, with commissioning expected in 2034, but the project is currently at the planning stage and has faced opposition from some residents concerned about health and environmental risks.The proposed expansion of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway has similarly failed to move into construction, with the government initially pushing for an expressway linking the two cities but later reverting from that approach, leaving the major commitment without construction underway.These projects demonstrate one of the biggest challenges in assessing Ruto's record: announcing a project is not the same as delivering it, and several of the administration's most ambitious infrastructure promises remain tied to future deadlines.Affordable housing also falls under the infrastructure agenda. The programme has seen 8,800 units completed since Ruto assumed office, while more than 214,000 additional houses are reported to be under construction across the 47 counties.We should do affordable housing in towns and use our farms to grow food - William Ruto pic.twitter.com/IKlhDrhK6uHowever, the government initially targeted 250,000 new houses every year, meaning actual delivery has remained below that ambition.Electricity access presents another example of partial delivery, with the government continuing to implement the Last Mile Connectivity Programme to connect households, particularly in rural and underserved areas, but the broader pledge to ensure access for all targeted households has not yet been fully achieved.Perhaps one of the government's biggest wins in terms of infrastructure has been stadia, with the administration embarking on an ambitious programme to construct and upgrade sports facilities across the country.
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