Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has declared that East Africa is “very lucky” to have William Ruto at the helm of Kenya, praising his counterpart’s Pan-Africanist zeal and ability to turn vision into concrete investment.
Speaking on Sunday at the groundbreaking of a multi-billion-shilling steel plant by Devki Group in northern Uganda, Museveni singled out Ruto for encouraging private sector giants to look beyond Kenya’s borders.
“President William Ruto is a good Pan-Africanist and also active in terms of implementation,” he said. “You can now see the fruits.”
The warm words mark a sharp contrast to past tensions between the two leaders over trade disputes and pipeline routes. Museveni went on to endorse Ruto’s push for regional infrastructure integration, calling for an end to the “irrational” reliance on road tankers for fuel transport.
“Fuel must go through the pipeline, heavy cargo through the railway,” he insisted, promising joint Ugandan-Kenyan investment to expand the ageing Kenya Pipeline Company network.
Ruto, attending the event, revealed that Nairobi is ready to divest up to 65 per cent of the state-owned pipeline firm, opening the door for Ugandan public and private investors to take significant stakes.
“Ministers met in Nairobi last week and I have given them clear guidance,” he told the gathering. “Uganda and Kenya, public and private, will jointly own the Kenya Pipeline Company.”
The proposed co-ownership would lock in Uganda’s fuel security while giving Kampala influence over an artery that carries refined products from Mombasa as far as Kigali and Juba. Museveni welcomed the plan, saying it would end rampant fuel theft along the current road-based supply chain and herald a “very bright” regional future.
For Ruto, facing mounting domestic criticism over cost of living and youth unemployment, Museveni’s public embrace offers a timely boost to his credentials as East Africa’s leading statesman ahead of a packed regional summit calendar in 2026.
