There is a popular narrative that suggests Kenya’s former President, Uhuru Kenyatta, was a fundamentally good leader whose efforts were sabotaged by his Deputy, William Ruto. This narrative often paints Kenyatta as having a “softer personality, a likable aura, and a calm presence,” implying that any chaos was simply the fault of those around him.
But the truth, as argued in a recent powerful analysis, is that this is an excuse—an avoidance of accountability that Kenyans must politically mature beyond. The presidency is not a position for sympathy; it is a position of power, and with that power comes full responsibility for all outcomes.
Leadership by Outcomes, Not Explanations
Uhuru Kenyatta was the President of the Republic of Kenya for 10 years (2013-2022). If he genuinely believed his vision was being sabotaged, he had constitutional tools at his disposal: he could have reorganized the government, fired people, restructured his cabinet, and taken decisive control, or he could have stepped down.
To sit in the highest office for a decade, watch the nation incur massive debt, sign loans, and launch projects, only to later claim someone else stopped him from delivering, is not leadership. Leadership is judged by outcomes, not by explanations.
In serious, mature democracies (such as Japan, the UK, South Korea, New Zealand, or Australia), prime ministers and ministers resign for far less—a failed policy, a budget overrun, a stalled project. In Africa, however, we have normalized excusing politicians, blaming advisors or deputies, and never blaming the person who actually held the full power of the office.
We must change this mindset. The crisis Africans are currently living through is a direct consequence of leadership choices, and those choices demand accountability, not a defense of a leader’s “aura” or “charisma.”
The Debt Turning Point: The Eurobond Era
The analysis asserts that you cannot understand Kenya’s current suffering—the high taxes, the IMF conditions, the public anger—without going back to the decisions made under Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership.
When he took office in 2013, Kenya’s public debt was roughly KES 1.8 to 2 trillion. By the time he left in 2022, it had exploded to almost KES 9 trillion.
The real turning point was in 2014, with the issuance of Kenya’s first Eurobond.
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The First Eurobond (2014): Kenya borrowed $2 billion US directly from global financial markets at expensive interest rates (5.875% and 6.875%). This was sold as a sign of maturity, but it changed everything. Before this, Kenya mainly borrowed from traditional, low-interest lenders like the World Bank and IMF.
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The Unaccounted Funds: Of the approximately KES 250 billion raised, only around KES 160 billion could be clearly traced to projects. For years, auditors and civil society asked: Where did the rest go? The Treasury could never show exactly which specific development projects the funds financed, an issue of zero accountability that persists to this day.
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The Debt Trap: Following 2014, the administration kept returning to the commercial markets in 2018 ($2 billion US) and 2019 ($2.1 billion US), with each round of borrowing coming with higher interest rates because lenders viewed Kenya as riskier.
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Borrowing to Pay: By the time the first Eurobond matured in June 2024, the government did not have the cash. In February 2024, Kenya issued another expensive Eurobond ($1.5 billion US at an unprecedented 10.375% interest) mainly to pay off the old one. This is the textbook definition of a debt trap. This cycle of expensive commercial borrowing started the moment the Eurobond door was opened in 2014 under Uhuru Kenyatta.
A Pattern of Big Promises, Big Failures
Once expensive debt flooded the country, the pressure to show results led to a rush of massive infrastructure promises, often launched without adequate planning or feasibility studies.
1. The Arror and Kimwarer Dams
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The Scandal: These dams in Elgeyo Marakwet were originally priced at about $450 million USD, but the figure quietly jumped by over $68 million USD. Huge payments were made before construction even began. Investigations found empty land, trees, and villagers asking where the projects were.
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The Outcome: The dams were cancelled after a presidential task force declared one “technically and financially not feasible.” Crucially, Kenya still owes the money, the interest, and the penalties for dams that were never built.
2. Galana Kulalu
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The Promise: A project promising 1 million acres under irrigation for massive food security.
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The Scandal: KES 7.3 billion was spent, yet the return was only 103,000 bags of maize from the pilot. Leases mysteriously jumped tenfold (from KES 300 to KES 3,000 per acre). The project collapsed due to poor planning and technical failures, managing to put only 5,000 acres under crop (0.5% of the promise).
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The Outcome: Parliament ordered a suspension and investigation, but despite documented failures, no personal accountability was ever brought to the leadership level.
3. Managed Equipment Services (MES)
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The Promise: Modernizing 98 hospitals across 47 counties with dialysis, CT scanners, and ICU equipment.
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The Scandal: The cost skyrocketed from the initial KES 38 billion to KES 63 billion for the same equipment. Many hospitals could not use the machines because they lacked basic infrastructure (trained specialists, stable electricity, and clean water). Equipment sat idle, sometimes still in boxes, while counties paid millions monthly.
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The Outcome: A Senate ad-hoc committee described the project as a “criminal enterprise shrouded in opaque procurement.” Kenya is still paying for the over KES 60 billion spent on mostly idle equipment, with zero personal accountability for the then-President.
4. The Laptop Project
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The Promise: Every Standard One child would receive a laptop—the face of Jubilee’s digital transformation.
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The Scandal: The biggest problem was not corruption, but planning failure. The government rushed into procurement without ensuring 22,000 public schools had electricity, secure storage, or trained teachers. Laptops were downgraded to cheaper tablets. Most schools quietly reverted to chalk and textbooks, with billions spent and the original promise never achieved.
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The Outcome: Another multi-billion-shilling project that faded from headlines, with no parliamentary grilling or accountability for the President.
5. Huduma Number
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The Promise: A complete re-engineering of citizen identity (one number, one card) to integrate all government services.
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The Scandal: Nearly 38 million Kenyans registered, and over KES 10 billion was spent. However, the project was launched without proper legal safeguards. The High Court declared the roll-out of the cards illegal because the mandatory data protection assessments had been skipped.
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The Outcome: The system stalled, the cards were not integrated, and the subsequent administration quietly shelved the entire project. Again, billions spent, critical data collected, and a system abandoned, with no one held responsible at the leadership level.
A True Test of Leadership
These repeated failures—from the Eurobond to the dams, Galana Kulalu, MES, the laptops, and Huduma Number—show a consistent pattern: A leadership style built on big announcements, big budgets, and big promises, with shockingly weak execution and zero personal accountability. It was a government that chased visibility over viability.
Acknowledging the Wins (Paid For by Kenyans)
To be fair, the administration did register some visible wins, but these were national investments funded by Kenyans, not personal gifts from the President.
| Achievement | Source of Funding/Sustainment | The Critical Caveat |
| Infrastructure: Roads built, SGR operational. | Taxes and loans are paid for by citizens. | The cost-effectiveness of these projects is a separate debate. |
| Electricity Access: Millions of households connected (Last Mile program). | National debt and Kenyans’ monthly bills. | Progress paid for by the public. |
| Online Services: E-Citizen platform growth. | Public money and public agencies. | An institutional, not personal, achievement. |
| Health: Linda Mama, expanded NHIF coverage. | Workers’ contributions and taxpayers. | Not presidential charity. |
| Devolution/Security: Increased capabilities. | Consistent funding from the Constitution and taxpayers. | Progress driven by national budgets and systems. |
Having wins does not erase the long-term consequences of poor leadership choices. These celebrated achievements were financed through unprecedented public borrowing, expensive commercial loans, and high-risk debt structures. Kenya got new infrastructure, but it also got the highest debt burden in its history.
The Call for Political Maturity
The truth is simple: The crisis Kenyans are living through today—the high cost of living and the IMF pressure—began with the foundations laid between 2013 and 2022.
The conclusion is a powerful challenge to the Kenyan electorate:
“If we don’t learn from this era, we will repeat it. We will fall for charisma… We will confuse a great aura with great leadership and that is how a nation stays stuck.”
Kenyans must stop voting like fans choosing celebrities and start voting like shareholders choosing someone to protect their national investment. Personality does not pay debts, charisma will not strengthen institutions, and a good speech will not fix a broken economy.
The ultimate lesson from Uhuru Kenyatta’s decade is not anger, but awareness—awareness that leadership is about deep thinking, best preparation, and sustainable delivery, not just cutting ribbons and giving polished speeches.
As a non-Kenyan observer, the depth of this analysis underscores a universal truth about governance: true leadership is measured by accountability and the long-term, sustainable well-being of the nation, not by temporary fanfare or personal charm.