Ruto adds KSh11bn for Thwake Dam as he lists KSh37bn of Machakos and Makueni road works

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President William Ruto says the government is spending KSh21bn on 10 new roads in Machakos County and KSh16bn on seven roads in Makueni, and has set aside an extra KSh11bn to finish Thwake Dam.

He gave the figures on Saturday in a string of posts on his official X account as he toured Machakos, Makueni and Kitui, commissioning finished projects and launching new ones. Taken together, the two county road programmes add up to KSh37bn.

Roads in Makueni and Kitui

In Kaiti Constituency, Ruto said he launched the KSh1.4bn Kyambeke-Kyuasini-Ukia road and commissioned the KSh1.5bn Kyambeke-Kikoko road. “We are investing KSh16 billion to build seven new roads – 180km long – across Makueni County to open up the region, improve connectivity and unleash its economic potential,” he wrote.

In neighbouring Mbooni Constituency he commissioned the 37km Tawa-Nguluni road, which he put at KSh2.4bn. He said the road would “ease movement between Makueni and other counties, cut transport costs, and open up the region for trade and farming.”

In Kitui County, Ruto said he launched the tarmacking of the 10km Kwa Vonza-Kiusyani road, to be completed in 18 months. No cost was given for it.

For Machakos, the President said only that the government was “building 10 new roads in Machakos County at a cost of KSh21 billion“. In the same post he said he had assured residents of Mwala “that they will never again be marginalised or denied their rightful share of development.” The posts did not name those roads, their contractors or how the Machakos and Makueni programmes are being financed.

Water and Thwake Dam

“We have allocated an additional KSh11 billion to accelerate the completion of Thwake Dam, the largest dam ever built in Kenya,” Ruto wrote from Makueni. He did not say which budget the money comes from or give a new completion date.

The dam sits on the Makueni-Kitui border. When we last reported on the project in mid-October, the main structure was 94.2% complete, and the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation was targeting water impoundment by the end of January 2027 and commissioning in April 2027, depending on the remaining works. Those works include the concrete face slab and a bridge across the dam linking the two counties.

He said dams would also be built through the planned National Infrastructure Fund. “Through the National Infrastructure Fund, we will continue investing in dams across the region to address perennial water shortages and secure reliable water supplies for households, farmers and businesses,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, in Mwala, Machakos County, Ruto commissioned the KSh1.47bn Mwala Cluster Water Supply Project, which he said was meant to address decades of water scarcity in the area. He said it can supply 6.6 million litres a day and serves 137,400 people and 10 institutions in 10 towns. A second phase, which he described as a KSh500m last-mile plan, is meant to reach another 120,000 residents in Mwala Constituency.

Title deeds and a hospital hostel

At Kyambeke trading centre, Ruto said he issued 6,800 title deeds to residents of Kaiti Constituency. “We are committed to fulfilling our promise to end land challenges across the country and give ownerships to millions of Kenyans,” he wrote. He also broke ground on hostels for the Kilungu KMTC campus in Nunguni.

“No area or region will be marginalised or neglected because of its political inclination,” he wrote at the end of the day. The tour continued on Sunday in Mwingi, Kitui County.