Ruto signs into law the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill

President William Ruto has signed into law the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026, which sets in motion the establishment of a national investment vehicle aimed at preserving wealth generated from Kenya's natural resources and strategic investments for future generations.

The President assented to the Bill yesterday in State House, saying the move will ensure the country's prosperity endures beyond the current generation.

It establishes a legal framework for the management and investment of revenues from the country’s natural resources.

He insisted that the law puts in place watertight mechanisms to ensure resources obtained from strategic assets and  natural resources endures for generations.

“The Sovereign Wealth Fund serves as a guarantee that revenues from petroleum and other valuable mineral resources are not entirely consumed by the present generation but are invested to benefit our children and the children of our children,” the President said.

He explained that the legislation establishes three key windows under the fund namely the Stabilisation Fund to cushion the economy against external shocks, the Strategic Investment Window will finance national development projects and create jobs, while the Future Generations pillar - Urithi Fund - will invest a portion of petroleum and mineral revenues for future citizens.

Under the law, 30 per cent of revenues from petroleum and mineral resources will be channelled into the Urithi Fund, with the remainder supporting economic stability and strategic investments.

The Sovereign Wealth Fund becomes the second major financial institution created under the Government's economic transformation agenda after the establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund in March 2026, designed to mobilise private capital for development projects.

“A fund entrusted with the wealth of generations must itself be worthy of that trust and that is why this act places governance, transparency and accountability at its very heart. The sovereign wealth fund will belong not to my administration, but to Kenya. It will be managed according to our constitution, and the enduring interests of the Kenyan people. The act provides for independent professional management, strong parliamentary oversight, and transparent public reporting and robust auditing,” Ruto explained.

He insisted that every shilling must be accounted for, every decision must be guided by prudence, every investment measured by the legacy it leaves for future generations.

“History seldom remembers nations for resources they possessed. It remembers them for the choices they made with those resources. The nations that achieve lasting prosperity share one defining characteristic. They think beyond the present. They plan in decades, not election cycles. They build institutions that endure across administrations and across generations,” he said.

He lauded the National Assembly and the Senate over what he described as a sense of national purpose with which they have passed this legislation, saying they have not merely passed laws but laid the legislative foundations of a transformation.

“These laws will strengthen our financial system, modernize our economy, and lay foundations upon which future generations will continue to build. Today, Kenya chooses that discipline. We choose to save, to invest, to preserve, to build, and above all, we choose to honor the constitutional covenant that binds one generation to the next. I want to appreciate the Speakers of both houses, Kenyans who came with ideas, the private sector players who informed the public participation, and the bipartisan engagement in parliament. It went beyond sides,” Ruto stated.

He said Parliament’s role has been critical in passing legislation, having undertaken the housing fund, through to social health insurance fund, to the primary health fund, emergency fund, to all the other transformational legislation, government-owned enterprises, privatization act, national infrastructure fund and now sovereign wealth fund.

Ruto stated that every proposal taken to Parliament has been subjected to public participation, parliamentary debate and strengthened in the process.

“While three years ago I sat in room six here and we had dollar reserves of just two and a half months of import cover, about USD5.7 billion. Today, our foreign exchange reserves are going now to maybe seven months of import cover. We are almost tripling our foreign exchange reserves in Kenya. Numbers are beginning to show, UNCTAD released their report and Kenya has increased its foreign direct investment from USD1.5 billion three years ago to USD3.2 billion dollars Today and we are moving.

Ruto also said he has Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki to chair the government committee to work with private sector investors and players for what will be one of the largest investments in the country.

According to the President, the investment in the East African oil refinery, a Sh2.2 trillion investment in the country and a date has already been set for groundbreaking.

“We are taking steps in making sure we take our country forward, when we say we are moving this country to a first world status. We want to match our commitment with our actions. May history record that we honor the trust placed in our generation, not by exhausting our nation's resources, but by preserving, growing and expanding them. May future generations look upon this moment and representatives of that future generation are here with us this morning and say they did not consume our inheritance. They secured it,” he stated.

He also said that the private sector is as much part of the discussion about the governance of the country and its future.

He said he has been to the Nairobi Securities Exchange five times, not because he does not have work to do, but to intentionally give confidence that the Government believe in the capital markets as an alternative source of capital to transform the country.

“I want to commend the private sector for stepping forward, being as courageous as us because in the past, the private sector was very shy. This is the kind of collaboration and partnership between private sector actors, banks, pension funds, capital markets, investors, coming together so that we can build a nation. Often the public is stranded with big projects that require funding and the private sector on the other side is always stranded with a lot of money, not knowing where to invest. I am happy that we are now building the ecosystem that enables private sector resources to fund public assets in a win-win outcome.”