Thousands of families from Kenya’s minority and marginalised communities are set to benefit from government cash transfer programmes following a directive issued by President William Ruto.
Speaking during the International Minorities Day celebrations held at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, December 18, 2025, the President ordered the State Department for Social Protection to immediately register and enrol eligible families from these communities into existing cash transfer schemes.
“The State Department for Social Protection shall urgently register and enrol all eligible families from minority and marginalised communities into existing cash transfer programmes to strengthen household resilience and dignity,” President Ruto said.
The directive targets some of the country’s most historically excluded groups, including hunter-gatherer communities such as the Ogiek, Sengwer and Yaaku, many of whom have faced decades of land dispossession, forced evictions and erosion of their cultural way of life.
Pastoralist communities living in arid and semi-arid regions — including the Somali, Maasai and Samburu — will also benefit, alongside coastal communities such as the Arabs and Pemba, who have long struggled with issues of statelessness and limited access to government services.
Kenya’s list of marginalised groups further includes communities like the Sanye, Waata, Dorobo, Elmolo and Malakote, as well as linguistic minorities such as the Suba and Terik, whose languages are at risk of disappearing.
Over the years, these communities have grappled with persistent poverty, weak access to education and healthcare, political exclusion, unresolved land disputes and repeated displacement.
Beyond cash transfers, President Ruto announced a Ksh 500 million National Minority Scholarship Programme aimed at supporting children from poor households in marginalised areas to access secondary and tertiary education.
The government will also cover Social Health Authority contributions for 200,000 vulnerable individuals drawn from these communities, easing their access to healthcare services.
In a further boost to education in underserved regions, the President said Ksh 200 million will be set aside every year as an Education Infrastructure Fund to build and upgrade schools in marginalised areas.
President Ruto also revealed that the Minority and Marginalised Affairs Unit within the Office of the President has been elevated to a semi-autonomous agency to strengthen coordination and implementation of government interventions.
“The Minorities and Marginalised Communities Directorate shall immediately be established within the Executive Office of the President to coordinate and implement all interventions across government,” he said.
He concluded by noting that Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries have been directed to factor the policy into their 2026–2027 budget estimates, signalling a long-term commitment to addressing the needs of Kenya’s minority and marginalised communities
