Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has defended President William Ruto’s wish to serve for two terms as the head of the Republic of Kenya.
Speaking during a church service on 21st June 2026, Kindiki argued that the one-term slogan undermines the Kenyan Constitution and that, as an elected leader, the president should serve for two terms of five years each.
“And, therefore, anybody trying to sell a narrative of anything short of a two-term must know they are undermining the constitution of Kenya,” said Kindiki.
The Kenya Times has dug into the matter to ascertain what the Kenyan Constitution provides on the presidential term limits.
Opposition leaders, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Martha Karua, have advocated that President William Ruto serve one term.
Kindiki Defends Two-Term Interpretation of Constitution
Kindiki urged Kenyans to continue supporting President William Ruto and dismissed growing political narratives advocating for a single-term presidency.
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According to Kindiki, the Kenyan Constitution requires a president to serve two terms to complete all development projects in education, health, and housing.
The deputy stated that president Ruto will need both terms to compete his development work that he started in 2022 and that the law does not provide for him to complete his work in five years.
“I want to ask you to continue supporting and respecting the president of the Republic of Kenya. He has done his job, and he will continue to do his job. And our constitution says that if someone is elected like the president. So, the constitution envisages a 10-year period for a president to bring policy, to bring programs, not just to start them, but to start them and complete them. That’s what the constitution says. There is no such thing as one term in the constitution,” said Kindiki.
Kindiki insisted that those advocating for a one-term presidency are misinterpreting and the Constitution.
Constitutional Interpretation and Term Limits Debate
According to Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, Article 142 states that a president serves a five-year term and may hold office for a maximum of two terms.
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The elected president’s term begins on the date he is sworn in and ends when the next elected President takes the oath of office.
The president is also prohibited from holding the office for more than two terms.
1)The President shall hold office for a term beginning on the date on which the President was sworn in, and ending when the person next elected President in accordance with Article 136(2)(a) is sworn in.(2)A person shall not hold office as President for more than two terms,” the constitution reads.
The law clearly sets a ceiling of ten years through re-election after completion of the first five years; it does not guarantee a full decade in office.
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