President William Ruto with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi at State House on August 4, 2026/PCSPresident William Ruto has announced that all 106,000 village elders across the country will begin receiving a monthly stipend of Sh3,000 from next month in recognition of their role in maintaining peace and supporting administration at the grassroots.
Ruto made the announcement at an engagement with about 10,000 village elders at State House, Nairobi, where he outlined a raft of measures aimed at strengthening the elders’ capacity to serve their communities.
The President said the monthly payment would provide a regular form of support to the elders, who play a key role in community mobilisation, dispute resolution, security and the implementation of government programmes.
Ruto also announced that each village elder would receive a smartphone to improve communication and enable them to perform multiple functions in their communities.
He said the government would train the elders on digital skills so they can use the devices to communicate, report incidents and support government operations more effectively.
“Tunataka kuwanunulia ile simu ya kisawasawa... Mumeniambia mnataka ile simu ambayo inapiga picha mambo ikiendelea na mnatuma mpaka na picha. Kama kuna mtu anasumbua watu mnapiga picha na mnatuma,” Ruto said, drawing loud cheers from the elders.
The President said the smartphones would allow the elders to document incidents in their communities and transmit information quickly to relevant authorities.
He said the digital tools would transform the elders from traditional community representatives into multipurpose government agents capable of supporting various functions at the grassroots.
Ruto also directed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to make provision for the medical cover of village elders and their immediate families.
He directed that funds be included in the supplementary budget expected in November or December to enable the government to pay Social Health Authority (SHA) contributions for the elders, their spouses and children.
The President said the objective was to ensure that the families are covered under SHA from January 1, 2027.
“I have directed Treasury to make sure that in the supplementary budget, we set aside funds so that our village elders, their spouses and children can have their SHA paid for by the government,” he said.
Ruto said the government had also taken steps to strengthen the administrative position of village elders through the necessary policy changes, placing them under the Presidency through the provincial administration.
He said the move would give the elders a clearer role within the national administration structure and improve coordination between them and other government officials operating at the grassroots.
The President said village elders were an important link between the government and communities, given their proximity to citizens and understanding of local issues.
The measures are expected to enhance the elders’ welfare while expanding their role in community security, administration, information gathering and implementation of government initiatives.
The State House engagement brought together thousands of village elders from across the country as the government seeks to strengthen its grassroots administrative structures.
