Party after party: Ruto breaks silence on State House events after People Daily report
By David Nthua, September 4, 2025President William Ruto on Thursday, September 4, 2025, reacted to a People Daily front-page splash that questioned the frequency of political festivities at State House.
The paper’s headline, “State House: No longer sacred grounds,” described how the once heavily guarded seat of power has now become a hub for political delegations, with groups trooping in from across the country to pledge loyalty.
Ruto’s reaction to People Daily
An image of a packed lawn outside the House on the Hill accompanied the report.
Responding via his social media platforms, President Ruto shared the newspaper cover and wrote: “Bottom Up it is.”
The remark signalled that he views the gatherings as part of his people-centred Bottom-Up Economic and Transformation Agenda (BETA) model, not a misuse of the State House.
Ruto’s response comes against the backdrop of fresh revelations from Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
While releasing the National Government Budget Implementation Review for the 2024/25 financial year, Nyakang’o disclosed that State House spent an average of Ksh2.2M daily on printing services alone.
CoB raises red flags
“The Executive Office of the President spent an average of Ksh2M per day on printing services in the last financial year,” the CoB report reads.
The printing bills covered government policies, executive orders, press statements, and invitation cards for State House functions.
Nyakang’o also revealed that the State House made an extra requisition of Ksh5B under Article 223, citing extraordinary circumstances.
The money went into domestic travel, hospitality, fuel, and vehicle maintenance.
“I still see elements of too much foreign travel in the sense that we are now encroaching on resources for development,” Nyakang’o said, warning that overspending had significantly reduced the development budget.
These disclosures have renewed scrutiny over President Ruto’s repeated austerity pledges. In 2023, he promised to cut government travel expenditure by 50 per cent.
Yet the CoB reported that in the last financial year alone, the government spent Ksh25.46B on travel, with Dubai, London, South Africa, and the US listed among the top destinations.