By Brian Kiprono & Hassan Wekesa - Reporter and Editor
Uganda, 23 November 2025 – President William Ruto has firmly dismissed growing speculation that Kenya intends to restrict Uganda’s access to the Indian Ocean, insisting that Nairobi will never obstruct its neighbour’s vital trade lifeline.
Speaking in Tororo on Sunday during the launch of the Devki Mega Steel Industry, President Ruto told critics that attempts to sow mistrust between the two countries were doomed to fail.
“There has been a lot of noise suggesting Uganda is worried about accessing the Indian Ocean,” he said.
He clarified that Uganda and Kenya are brothers and sisters.
"We have no time for negative drama.”
President Ruto emphasised that the two governments were deepening cooperation on the very transport corridors that some commentators claimed were under threat.
He cited the extension of the oil pipeline from Eldoret towards the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) route, upgrades to the planned Naivasha–Kampala Standard Gauge Railway, and the forthcoming dualling of the Rironi–Malaba highway.
These projects, he said, were not symbolic gestures, but long-term investments designed to lower transport costs, boost cross-border trade and attract new industries to East Africa.
“We have chosen a path of progress,” President Ruto declared.
“Our focus is jobs, investment and infrastructure that connects our people. Poverty can be defeated, but not when countries work alone.”
He also revealed that Kenya is preparing to open up to 65% of the Kenya Pipeline Company to regional ownership, urging Uganda to regard the fuel transport network as a shared East African asset rather than a purely Kenyan one.
Describing the new Tororo steel plant as proof that East Africa can compete globally, President Ruto noted that the continent’s steel demand – currently around 39.5 million tonnes – is set to rise sharply over the next decade.
Regional producers, he argued, must be ready to capture that market.
Kenya alone imports steel worth nearly $850 million annually, and the President expressed confidence that the Tororo facility would serve both nations while reducing reliance on foreign supplies.
He concluded by reassuring Ugandans of Kenya’s unwavering commitment to regional unity.
“You have a friend and partner in Kenya,” he said.
“We are building a region where prosperity is shared, not feared.”
Most speakers in the Sunday event, including the Chairman of Devki Group of Companies, Narendra Raval, inserted some political statements, where they wished Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of National Resistance Movement (NRM) success in the presidential elections to be held on Thursday, 15 January 2026.
Museveni is expected to square it out with National Unity Party (NUP) Leader Robert Kyagulanyi popularly known as Bobi Wine.
Recently, Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi was in Uganda where he met President Museveni in what political pundits say was a diplomatic meeting to calm tension over Indian Ocean access.
This was fueled by Chief of Defense Forces of Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) Muhoozi Kainerugaba - Museveni's son - who in post on X platform suggested that Uganda was on its way to claim ownership of the Indian Ocean.
He further stated that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania must unite in what analysts described as taking the joke too far.
Museveni would further add that he envisioned East Africa having federal joint military.
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