Leaders during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCS

President William Ruto has called for a national assessment of Kenya’s progress in implementing the 2010 Constitution, saying Katiba Day should be more than an anniversary. 
Speaking at the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026, Ruto said the Constitution ushered in a new constitutional order and renewed the covenant on which the Republic is anchored. 
He said generations of Kenyans had struggled and sacrificed for a nation governed by the sovereign will of the people rather than “the whims of the mighty and powerful”.
Ruto said the Constitution established a system in which authority is restrained by law, public office is exercised as a trust and institutions are accountable to citizens.
“With that in mind, Katiba Day, sixteen years later, must be more than an anniversary. It must be a day of national accounting,” Ruto said. 
He challenged the Executive, Parliament, Judiciary, national and county governments, constitutional commissions, independent offices and public officers to examine how faithfully they have implemented the Constitution. 
Ruto posed questions on whether constitutional authority has been exercised responsibly, whether rights guaranteed by the Constitution have been delivered and whether institutions have honoured the purposes for which they were established. 
He said the Constitution has two equally important functions: restraining and managing power. 
According to Ruto, it restrains power by sharing authority, establishing checks and balances, protecting fundamental freedoms and providing remedies against abuse.President William Ruto greeting Mama Ida Odinga during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCS

At the same time, he said, it requires the State to govern, protect, provide and progressively realise social and economic rights.

“Our responsibility is to uphold both obligations: power must be managed, and rights must be assured,” Ruto said. 
He singled out Article 43 as central to assessing constitutional implementation. 
The article guarantees rights including the highest attainable standard of health, adequate housing, food, clean and safe water, social security and education. 
Ruto said these provisions are “not ornamental provisions” but fundamental rights.President William Ruto and his deputy Kithure Kindiki during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSThe 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSDorcas Oduor, Attorney General, during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSPresident William Ruto and Prime Cabinet Secretary during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSThe 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSLeaders during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSLeaders during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCSLeaders during the 16th Katiba Day Symposium at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on August 27, 2026/PCS