NAIROBI — President William Ruto is standing his ground.
Amid rising criticism and warnings of a looming sugar shortfall, the Kenyan head of state says he will not walk back plans to lease four state-owned sugar factories.
“I’m prepared to put my name on the line,” president Ruto told journalists at State House on Wednesday. “Because I know we are doing the right thing.”
The president’s remarks come as fresh projections point to a sharp decline in local sugar production next year. According to a report by the US Department of Agriculture released last month, Kenya is expected to produce just 650,000 metric tonnes of sugar in the 2025/2026 season a nearly 20 per cent drop from the previous year.
The slump is blamed on over-harvesting in 2024 and drought conditions that stunted cane growth.
Even so, Ruto has doubled down on his approach. He says the leasing programme is part of broader efforts to dismantle entrenched interests what he calls “cartels” that have long paralyzed the sector.
“There are leaders who want to keep people in poverty,” he said in Swahili. “How can you oppose the leasing of sugar factories and still claim to care for the poor?”
A Sector Under Strain
Sugar has long been a politically sensitive crop in Kenya. Millions depend on the industry for their livelihoods, particularly in western regions like Nyanza and the Rift Valley. But years of mismanagement, corruption and delayed payments have hollowed out the once-thriving sector.
Mr Ruto says his administration has made progress, citing a reduction in sugar imports and the planting of an additional 2,000 acres under cane.
“For 40 years, we have been importing sugar. This year, we imported the least. By 2027, we might not need to import sugar at all,” he claimed.
Yet others remain sceptical. With Kenya’s annual sugar demand at 1.1 million tonnes and a production shortfall expected, critics fear the leases could hand over public assets to private interests without addressing the underlying challenges—like ageing mills, poor infrastructure, and unreliable supply chains.
“Leasing won’t fix low cane yields or poor transport,” said Dr Ruth Mutua, an agricultural economist. “Without investment in modern farming and fairer farmer contracts, production will continue to fall.”
Policy Clock Ticking
Kenya’s current safeguard on cheap sugar imports from international markets is set to expire in November 2025. Once lifted, local producers could struggle to compete unless reforms succeed in cutting costs and boosting output.
That’s what the leasing plan aims to tackle, according to the government.
But as opposition voices grow louder, so does the pressure on President Ruto to show results and soon.
“People want jobs and affordable sugar,” said Kennedy Odhiambo, a cane farmer in Kisumu. “We’ve heard promises before. We’ll believe it when we see the factories running again.”
For now, Mr. Ruto is betting his political capital on a plan he insists is about ending poverty and reviving a broken industry. Whether the numbers and the public support him in the long run remains uncertain.
