Nairobi — President William Ruto on Wednesday criticized unnamed rivals as "planless," "brainless," and "idle" politicians.
Speaking during the launch of the Nyota youth empowerment programme in Garissa, President Ruto said he would not apologise for focusing on young people.
"Anyone telling me to do other work is an idler," Ruto said. "I am here to work for young people, not to listen to lectures from people who have no plan."
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Without naming names, President Ruto accused rival politicians of lacking ideas and using young people only for political gain, in what appeared as a veiled attack to his former deputy turned foe Rigathi Gachagua.
"We cannot allow planless, brainless, clueless politicians to misuse our youth as goons or bloggers for their own politics," he said.
According to President Ruto, past governments failed because they had no clear plan to absorb the millions of young people leaving schools and colleges every year.
He said his administration is different because it is "intentional" and "deliberate" about job creation.
He pointed to Nyota, digital jobs, labour export programmes, and affordable housing as proof that his government has a working strategy for youth empowerment.
President Ruto also used the Garissa event to push back against claims that Northern Kenya is receiving special treatment.
He said such criticism is rooted in discrimination and outdated thinking.
"There are no second-class citizens in Kenya," he said, adding that profiling entire regions on citizenship is unconstitutional.
The President said his government is correcting historical injustices in Northern Kenya, citing improved access to national IDs, government services, and economic programmes like Nyota.
He also cited major infrastructure projects in the region, including the construction of 750 kilometres of roads, expansion of the electricity grid to Wajir and Mandera, new water dams, irrigation projects, and plans to boost food security.
