President William Ruto will deliver his third State of the Nation Address to a joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday, at a time when his administration is grappling with numerous challenges.

The State of the Nation Address is a constitutional obligation to inform Parliament on three key issues, including national security.

The President is also required to evaluate the legislature on all actions taken by his administration and the progress made in realizing national values.

Article 132 of the Constitution requires that the President also inform the bicameral House once a year of the measures and progress made in meeting the international obligations of the republic.

Unlike his last two speeches, this year’s State of the Nation Address comes at a time when his administration is under pressure due to alleged state-sponsored kidnappings and unrest in key sectors.

Kenya’s Kwanza government has been accused of overseeing the collapse of the country’s health and education systems, forcing Kenyans to pay their medical bills out of pocket.

The government’s Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is said to be dysfunctional despite assurances from state officials that initial problems are being resolved.

Experts have described the withdrawal of the legendary National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) as a total disaster that has negatively impacted the delivery of health services in all hospitals.

In recent days, President Ruto has struggled to explain that SHIF is working, with the latest instances seeing some resistance from members of the public during church services.

Religious leaders are in a standoff with the Kenya Kwanza government over SHIF, with clerics lambasting President Ruto’s administration for massive failures in the health sector.

The Catholic Church and the Anglican Church in Kenya this week slammed the government, saying it perpetuates a culture of impunity and lies at the expense of Kenyans.

The clergy also challenged the state on the kidnappings, asking it to respect human rights.

Last week, bishops denounced Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration for allegedly perpetuating a “culture of lies”, including breaking election promises and imposing punitive and exploitative policies.

In a rare show of unity, ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit on Monday backed a recent statement by Catholic bishops, condemning what they describe as an escalation of mismanagement, impunity and widespread rights violations.

Sapit urged the government to address pressing concerns over the controversial SHIF overhaul and insufficient funding for education, as well as the heavy tax burden on ordinary Kenyans.

“We, ACK, fully support the statement of the Catholic Bishops to the nation. We believe that the government has not yet turned the country around and steered it in the right direction,” he said.

President Ruto, who will address the nation on Thursday, is expected to address concerns over Shif and the university funding model as well as issues relating to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

There have been allegations of state-sponsored kidnappings and excessive use of force by police at a time when Ruto embraced a broad-based government following Gen Z protests in June and July.

Following waves of protests from the country’s angry youth demanding radical and institutional reforms, the exact location from where Ruto would address MPs was breached as protesters stormed Parliament .

The president is expected to defend his decision to form a broad-based government and the inclusion of opposition leaders in his government.

He is likely to base this approach on promoting national unity and fighting tribalism, while reinforcing the fact that his administration has no place for tribal leaders.

Its former vice president, Rigathi Gachagua, was removed from office by impeachment following allegations of tribalism.

He was quickly replaced by Kithure Kindiki after MPs accelerated the impeachment process and approved Gachagua’s successor.

The atmosphere in Parliament could be a cocktail of critics and supporters, especially after the change of sides following Gachagua’s dismissal and the formation of a broad-based government.

It is unclear whether Gachagua’s allies will reject the speech on Thursday afternoon, but opposition MPs allied with ODM boss Raila Odinga will be there to fill the void if that happens.

In September last year, when Ruto addressed Parliament, opposition MPs then criticized Ruto’s speech, calling it “hollow”.

The Constitution requires that the President deliver his speech once a year and may address Parliament at any other time.

In 2022, the President addressed the opening of the 13th Parliament outlining his legislative agenda to actualize his bottom-up economic transformation (beta) agenda.

Last year, Ruto listed the steps his administration was taking to address the three critical areas of national security, international obligations and the realization of national values.

In his speech last September, the President focused on his favorite subject, the affordable housing project.

He also discussed the transformation of the education sector, universal health coverage (UHC), digitalization of government services and transformation of the security sector, among others.

“We have laid a solid foundation for rapid development, and Kenya is no longer ‘on your mark’. The state of our nation right now is primed and ready to go,” Ruto said in his closing speech.

The president is also expected to brief MPs on the progress of the economy at a time when the government is claiming robust growth with the lowest inflation rates on record.

“This is the lowest inflation rate since 2007, during the tenure of President Mwai Kibaki, and is in line with the target set in the Kenya Kwanza programme,” State House said in a Cabinet dispatch. last Thursday.

Ruto’s government has also faced strong criticism over cases of kidnappings and repression of freedom of expression, with the surveillance role appearing to remain the preserve of activists, civil society and certain sections of the audience.