On Friday, December 19, 2025, Kenyan newspapers highlighted the plans of the ruling party United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to form a major political party before the 2027 General Election.
The newspapers also reported on the large expenditure of money made by the White House and the office of the President William Ruto in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year.
Source: UGC
1. People Daily
Before the 2027 elections, a plan is planned to create a large political party that will unite ODM and UDA of President William Ruto.
Plans are already in place for the ODM National Delegates Council (NDC) to support a legal agreement with the UDA and approve certain issues within the party.
The NDC is also expected to endorse Ruto’s re-election campaign, which will surprise several prominent Opposition figures and alleged defectors in the party.
Ruto is counting on ODM for re-election in the next election by expanding his base of support and making up for potential losses in other areas, especially the heavily-voted Mount Kenya region.
“If you organize ODM to be a strong party, I will organize UDA to be a strong party so that we can unite and form a government through mutual agreement,” Ruto said during the Piny Luo Festival in Migori county.
Source: Facebook
2. The Standard
The publication revealed that the State House spent a whopping KSh 4.5 billion in three months despite President Ruto’s austerity measures.
Spending is dominated by travel, wages and hospitality expenses.
The Controller of Budget (CoB), Margaret Nyakang’o, noted that KSh 3.1 billion out of KSh 4.5 billion was reported to be used for other expenses during the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, from July to September 2025.
The Palace spent KSh 98 million on fuel and lubricants, KSh 292.7 million on domestic transport, KSh 199.2 million on hospitality, and KSh 689.83 million on salaries.
In the report, he noted that the White House spent KSh 55.1 million for routine vehicle maintenance, KSh 3.43 million for international travel, KSh 4.19 million for communication, equipment, and services, and KSh 25.69 million for water services, equipment, and services.
The Office of the President spent KSh 1.04 billion in the period under review.
These included KSh 463.21 million for salaries, KSh 49.93 million for domestic transport, KSh 8.34 million for external transport, KSh 40.41 million for hospitality, KSh 12.35 million for fuel and other expenses (KSh 275.1 million).
3. Daily Nation
With the Ministry of Education offering the first ever secondary school placement under Competency Based Education (CBE) on Friday, December 19, the 1.13 million applicants who took the Kenya Junior School Education First Assessment (KJSEA) are full of hope and anxiety.
Placement information, including where Ninth Form applicants will spend the next three years, will be available via SMS and the ministry’s portal.
Unlike in the past, when secondary school ranking was solely determined by the school’s category and performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, the routes will have a significant impact on school groups.
Therefore, the route and school where the student will be placed will be specified in the admission letter.
4. The Star
For three months, the Kenyan government quietly borrowed billions of shillings from the domestic market.
The Ruto administration borrowed an average of KSh 4.58 billion daily from the local market to sustain its operations in the three months to September 2025.
By September, the daily borrowing habit reached more than KSh 412 billion.
This saw the value of domestic debt increase to KSh 6.6 trillion.
According to data shared by the Central Bank of Kenya, the country’s total debt at the end of the period was KSh12.05 trillion, while external loans were KSh 5.4 trillion.
5. Nation Today
The publication investigated the KSh 5 billion scandal that is alleged to have rocked the Ruto administration.
This follows the stalling of the construction of industrial parks in several counties after the former Minister of Commerce Moses Kuria launch them.
The parks were animal projects of Kenya First Alliance, and Kuria described them as the easiest way for Kenya to become the Singapore of Africa through job creation.
However, not a single park has been completed three years later, with implementation rates below 30%.
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