NAIROBI, Kenya — President William Ruto has signed the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026 into law, creating a legal framework that legally mandates the state to sequester 30 percent of all revenues generated from Kenya’s petroleum and mineral resources for future generations.
Speaking during the assenting ceremony, the President described the enactment as a monumental turning point in how East Africa’s largest economy will manage, invest, and preserve its finite natural resources.
“Today marks a turning point in how Kenya will preserve its resources for future generations,” Ruto said. “While the National Infrastructure Fund will build national assets, the Sovereign Wealth Fund will preserve and grow the country’s wealth for the future.”
The Three Pillars of the Fund
The newly established fund is anchored on a triple-pronged strategy designed to balance immediate fiscal needs with long-term financial security:
- The Urithi Fund: Meaning ‘heritage’ in Swahili, this wing is strictly dedicated to future generations and will absorb the mandatory 30 percent of natural resource revenues.
- The Stabilization Fund: Designed to serve as a fiscal buffer to insulate the domestic economy from volatile commodity markets and unexpected global crises.
- The National Infrastructure Fund: Dedicated to financing strategic national projects and driving job creation.
President Ruto emphasized that early intervention was necessary to avoid the resource management pitfalls that have plagued other mineral-rich nations. Pointing to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund—which has amassed roughly Ksh 280 trillion over three decades—the President noted Kenya was adapting a proven global blueprint.
“Natural resources are finite, and once they are exhausted, they are gone forever,” Ruto warned. “That is why we do not want one generation to benefit at the expense of those who come after. Kenya, too, can become a first-world country within one generation.”
The President also revealed that the fund’s capital base would extend beyond underground resources to include state dividends from major national infrastructure investments, such as the ongoing Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) project. Citing recent geopolitical market shocks, like the Iran conflict, Ruto stated that a national mineral survey had already confirmed substantial deposits across the country, making the fund’s immediate setup vital before “the temptation to misuse those resources arises.”
Balancing Present Pressures Against the Future
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi strongly defended the legislation, calling it a deliberate choice to correct past economic oversights where minerals were extracted without any thought toward long-term asset accumulation.
Mbadi flatly dismissed critics who argued that Kenya should delay establishing a sovereign wealth fund until the country resolves its fiscal deficits and achieves a budget surplus.
“We must build momentum instead of waiting for the perfect time, because that time may never come,” the Treasury CS countered.
However, the private sector is already pushing for broader participation. Dr. Nicholas Ithondeka, Chairman of the Fund Managers, urged lawmakers to consider future amendments that would expand the fund’s scope past state-owned natural resource dividends. Ithondeka advocated for a more democratic investment model that would allow foreign entities and ordinary citizens alike to buy into the fund.
“We propose allowing ordinary Kenyans to invest, even as little as one shilling, so that their money is invested and they can earn returns from it,” Ithondeka stated, suggesting that unclaimed assets could also serve as an innovative source of capital.
