Why North Eastern MPs Walked Out on Ruto.

Nairobi.

Barely thirty minutes into President William Ruto’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday, legislators from Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera counties staged a defiant walkout, protesting what they described as the administration’s persistent neglect of the arid North Eastern region.

The MPs said the President’s address made no reference to the deepening drought, stalled infrastructure projects, recurrent insecurity along the Somalia border, or the long-delayed Horn of Africa Highway—issues they argue are central to the region’s survival and economic future.

Addressing journalists outside Parliament moments after exiting the chamber, the lawmakers delivered a blunt assessment of the speech and the administration’s record.

Wajir North MP Ibrahim Saney said the region’s patience had run out:

“We had best hopes in the fifth president, but the hopes are all gone.”

Wajir East MP Aden Daud faulted the President for offering no clear development roadmap for the North:

“From the President’s speech, it was clear that he has nothing planned for our region. He should go back to the drawing board.”

Wajir South MP Mohamed Adow, who also joined the boycott, said Northern Kenya remains “missing from the national map” despite its consistent support for the Kenya Kwanza coalition.

Fafi MP Farah Yakub Salah added that the President’s remarks “clearly showed that he has forgotten our region.”

The walkout contrasted sharply with the loud “Tutam!” chants from Kenya Kwanza loyalists inside the chamber as the President unveiled multi-trillion-shilling road, energy, and industrial projects—none of which, the North Eastern MPs noted, included targeted interventions for the drought-stricken and insecurity-prone counties.

The rare public defiance signals a notable shift for a region that has largely backed President Ruto since 2022. With less than two years to the 2027 elections, the coordinated protest underscores mounting frustration among leaders and could threaten the ruling coalition’s political footing in one of its key support bases.