NAIROBI / NORTH RIFT—President William Ruto has outlined the meaning behind his new rallying call “Usawa ni Sawa” (Equality is fair / Equality is good), framing it as a deliberate push to close Kenya’s deep inequality gaps and ease the everyday cost of living for ordinary citizens.
Speaking during his ongoing development tour of the North Rift and related public engagements, the President said Kenya has long lived with a stark divide — between the rich and the poor, those with jobs and those without. “Usawa ni Sawa,” he explained, is the government’s commitment to lift those at the bottom while ensuring those at the top also contribute to shared progress.
Ruto linked the slogan directly to concrete measures already underway. He pointed to programmes that put money into people’s pockets: the affordable housing initiative targeting one million Kenyans, digital jobs for about 400,000 people, and opportunities for roughly 700,000 Kenyans working abroad. Farmers growing coffee, tea, dairy and sugarcane, he said, are now earning better returns after the removal of middlemen and brokers.
The President also highlighted lower healthcare costs under reforms linked to the Social Health Authority and a lighter education burden through the recruitment of more teachers, construction of additional classrooms, and the new funding model for higher education. These steps, he argued, form the practical foundation of equality and equity.
“Ndiyo mkasikia nikasema, ‘Usawa ni sawa,’” Ruto told supporters, tying the Swahili phrase to the broader message of “Mbele Pamoja” (Forward together). The slogan has replaced earlier UDA calls such as “Kazi ni Kazi” and is being popularised through call-and-response chants at rallies across Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Baringo and other counties.
During the tour, Ruto has commissioned roads, electricity connections, markets and education facilities, presenting them as evidence that public investment is reaching every region rather than favouring a few. He has repeatedly insisted that no part of the country should be left behind and that development, not ethnic arithmetic, should decide Kenya’s future.
As the 2027 election approaches, “Usawa ni Sawa” has become the central theme of the President’s re-election messaging — a promise that reducing inequality and lowering the cost of living will define the next chapter of national transformation.