Senate Deputy Minority Leader Enoch Kiio Wambua Speaking in Senate on November 19, 2025. Photo Courtesy. 
By Andrew Mbuva
As President William Samoei Ruto prepares to deliver the 13th State of the Nation Address on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Enoch Kiio Wambua has urged the Head of State to address the country with sobriety, honesty, and a renewed commitment to easing the suffering of Kenyans.
Speaking ahead of the address, Senator Wambua said the President must recognize the dire economic and social frustrations enveloping the nation.
He noted that the country is reeling from heavy taxation, shrinking purchasing power, rampant corruption, and unfulfilled government promises that have left many Kenyans “standing on the edge of hopelessness.”
Wambua cautioned the President against using the occasion to introduce or popularise additional taxes or levies, including the proposed Infrastructure Development Fund, warning that the Kenyan taxpayer is already “stretched to breaking point.”
Any new attempt to “raid people’s incomes,” he said, would be unbearable for salaried workers, struggling businesses, and households already buckling under the weight of rising costs.
The senator challenged the President to demonstrate fiscal discipline and integrity, calling for an Executive that reins in its appetite for punitive legislation and excessive borrowing.
He criticised recent laws such as the Cyber Crimes Amendment Act (2025), describing them as tools that stifle free expression, suppress digital activism, and weaken public oversight over government spending.
Wambua also raised alarm over the administration’s push to sell strategic national assets, including the Kenya Pipeline Company, to finance the budget. He termed the move shortsighted and dangerous, arguing that Kenya’s public assets should not be auctioned off to plug annual budget deficits.
“If we sell such key assets today, what will future generations rely on?” he posed, describing the trend as driven not by necessity but by “greed that must be tamed.”
On education, the senator highlighted what he termed a sector “in disarray,” pointing to the recent 49-day lecturers’ strike and the prolonged plight of intern Junior Secondary School teachers.
He urged the President to fulfil the promise made to the 20,000 intern teachers who were to be absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms after one year, questioning why the timeline has now been extended to two years despite the administration promising multi-billion-shilling projects elsewhere.
Wambua concluded by urging President Ruto to rise above political antagonism and embrace the role of a unifying national figure.
He criticised the President’s tendency to publicly insult political opponents, saying such conduct is unbecoming of the presidency and has made many parents uncomfortable allowing their children to watch national broadcasts.
“As he takes the floor of the August House, the President must act as the father of the nation,” Wambua said. “Kenyans deserve leadership that inspires hope, protects rights, and restores dignity.”
