Ruto faces pressure over cost of living crisis as UDA-ODM pact heads for review

Civil society groups and opposition figures have intensified pressure on President William Ruto government over the cost of living, submitting petitions to Parliament alongside a 10-point reform agenda — weeks before a review of the United Democratic Alliance and Orange Democratic Movement governing pact that analysts say could define Kenya economic direction ahead of the 2027 general election.

Electricity at the centre of a wider cost crisis

The petitions make electricity reform their most urgent demand. Kenya Power and Lighting Company prepaid tokens cost approximately KSh 28 per unit against a base energy charge of KSh 18.57 — a gap of nearly 50% padded by fuel cost charges, foreign exchange levies, regulatory fees, a rural electrification surcharge, and value-added tax.

“Electricity is no longer just a utility bill. It is the cost of living,” said Prof. Fred Ogola, a presidential aspirant under the Liberal Democratic Party, whose 10-point reform agenda places energy at its foundation. “When power goes up, food goes up, rent goes up, water goes up. Small businesses struggle, and jobs disappear.”

Power as gateway to the 10-point agenda

Ogola LDP platform frames affordable electricity as the gateway pillar linking energy to food security, housing, manufacturing, job creation, healthcare, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and governance. The plan pledges to cut power costs by 45% through five interventions: renegotiating independent power producer contracts to end capacity charges; removing excess levies; expanding geothermal and hydroelectric capacity; reducing system losses from over 20% to below 10%; and introducing competitive industrial tariffs.

A presidential taskforce under the Ruto administration concluded that tariffs could fall by more than 30% through decisive renegotiation. That report has produced no measurable relief.

Coalition review adds political urgency

The petition timing is deliberate. The UDA-ODM framework, cemented after the 2024 cabinet reshuffle that brought Raila Odinga allies into Ruto administration, faces formal review in coming months. Civil society groups say it is a critical window for embedding enforceable cost-of-living benchmarks — or for opposition figures to break from a pact that has yet to deliver tangible economic relief.

Critics argue the administration has excelled at forming committees while delivery stalls. Independent power producer capacity charges are paid even when power is not dispatched. Twenty percent of generated electricity is lost through aging infrastructure, passed onto households. Dollar-denominated contracts mean every shilling depreciation automatically inflates token prices.

Food, rent and jobs: the downstream toll

The LDP 10-point agenda draws direct lines between expensive power and basic goods prices. Agro-processors pass energy costs to consumers, water utilities raise tariffs, and landlords charge higher rents — compounding across every lower-income household budget. Ogola agenda proposes discounted tariffs for industrial parks and export processors, arguing no country has industrialised on expensive electricity and that Kenya cannot build a manufacturing base while sustaining the region’s highest commercial power rates.

Government silent on delivery timelines

The agenda also identifies governance as both a standalone pillar and a cross-cutting condition — pointing to cartel influence over contract renegotiations and a public service culture that rewards loyalty over competence as core reasons reform has stalled.

“Leadership is not about announcements,” Ogola said. “It is about execution. Right now, execution is missing.”

Government spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of Energy has stated it remains committed to tariff rationalisation without a published timeline. With the UDA-ODM pact review approaching, pressure on Ruto government to show measurable progress — or face a more fractured political landscape — is unlikely to ease.