INFOTRAK VOICE OF THE PEOPLE POLL 2023 – ONE YEAR ON

InfoTrak Research & Consulting · Voice of the People Poll

President Ruto & His Cabinet Scorecard

A nationwide telephone survey capturing Kenyans’ verdict on President William Ruto’s first year in office, the performance of his Cabinet Secretaries and Ministries after 10 months in power, and public sentiment on the direction of the country. Fieldwork ran 21st–23rd August and 10th September 2023 across all 47 counties and 8 regions.

53%
Say the country is headed in the wrong direction
65%
Cite the high cost of living as a key concern
C · 55%
President Ruto’s Year 1 mean rating
33%
Name Kithure Kindiki best-performing CS

Poll Methodology

Two linked CATI surveys: State of the Nation & Cabinet ratings, and the President’s Year 1 rating

State of the Nation & Cabinet Secretaries Rating

Fieldwork: 21st–23rd August and 10th September 2023.

Quantitative interviews conducted through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) with a sample of 4,000 adult Kenyans 18 years and above, sampled Proportionate to Size (PPS) guided by the 2019 Census.

Margin of error: ±1.55% at a 95% degree of confidence. Response rate: 96%.

Where achieved interviews differed slightly from intended proportions per demographic group, the dataset was weighted to correct for over/under sampling. Covered all 47 counties and 8 regions; processed and analysed using SPSS 26.

President Ruto’s Year 1 Performance Rating

Fieldwork: 10th September 2023.

CATI interviews with a sample of 1,000 adult Kenyans 18 years and above, sampled PPS guided by the 2019 Census.

Margin of error: ±3.099% at a 95% degree of confidence. Response rate: 96%.

Same weighting approach, geographic coverage (47 counties, 8 regions) and SPSS 26 analysis as the main survey.

Sample Distribution by Region
Region Adult Population (Millions) Regional % Sample (n=4,000) Sample (n=1,000)

Direction of the Country

53% say Kenya is headed in the wrong direction — down from July’s peak of 72%, but still historically high

Overall, would you say that the country is going in the right or in the wrong direction? (n=4,000, September 2023)

53%

Wrong direction — 53%
Right direction — 30%
Neither right nor wrong — 13%
Don’t know / Refused — 3.3%
Trend: July vs September 2023
Direction July 2023 September 2023
Why Kenyans Feel the Country Is Headed Right or Wrong (August 2023)

Reasons for Right Direction

Reasons for Wrong Direction

Key Issues of Concern

High cost of living (65%) and unemployment (37%) remain Kenyans’ top two concerns

Could you kindly mention the three key issues that concern you as a Kenyan and that should be addressed as a matter of priority? (n=4,000, September 2023)

Top Two Concerns Over Time
Issue February 2023 July 2023 September 2023

Other Mentions (within the 15% “Others”)

  • Disaster management
  • Public participation
  • Environmental conservation
  • Foreign relations
  • Drug and substance abuse
  • Land issues
  • Alcoholism
  • High fuel prices
  • Sewage and sanitation
  • High taxation
  • Mining
  • Tourism

The Likert Scale & Grades Defined

How individual 1–10 ratings roll up into the letter grades used throughout this report

Kenyans rated President Ruto, his Cabinet Secretaries and his Ministries on a scale of 1 (extremely poor) to 10 (excellent). Each mean rating is then converted into a letter grade:

E · 1–39%
Poor
Needs urgent attention
D · 40–49%
Average
Needs improvement
C · 50–59%
Good
Keep it up
B · 60–69%
Good
Work towards excellence
A · 70–100%
Excellent
Well done / Retain as best practice

President Ruto’s First Year in Office

Grade C, mean rating 55%

On a scale of 1–10 with 10 being Excellent and 1 being extremely poor, how would you rate President William Ruto’s overall performance in his first year in office? (n=1,000)

C · 55%
Overall grade & mean rating
By Region
By Gender & Age

Kenya Kwanza Ministries Performance Scorecard

Ministry of Interior leads (56%, Grade C); Energy & Petroleum trails (43%, Grade D)

So far how would you rate the overall performance of the various ministries in the first 10 months after the swearing in of President Ruto’s cabinet on October 27 2022? [On a scale of 1–10, 10 being Excellent and 1 being Extremely poor] (n=4,000)

Cabinet Secretaries Performance Scorecard

Kithure Kindiki tops the ranking at 59% (Grade C); Davis Chirchir trails at 45% (Grade D)

So far how would you rate the overall performance of the various cabinet secretaries in the first 10 months after the swearing in of President Ruto’s cabinet on October 27 2022? [On a scale of 1–10, 10 being Excellent and 1 being Extremely poor] (n=4,000)

Top 5 Performing Cabinet Secretaries

Best Performing Cabinet Secretary

Kithure Kindiki named best-performing CS by 33% of Kenyans, up from 27% in February

Which Cabinet Secretary (CS) do you think has performed the best in the first 10 months in office? (n=4,000)

Trend: February vs August 2023 (Top 6)
Cabinet Secretary February 2023 August 2023

Other Mentions

  • Salim Mvurya
  • Njuguna Ndung’u
  • Simon Chelugui
  • Davis Chirchir
  • Florence Bore
  • Zachariah Mwangi Njeru
  • Rebecca Miano
  • Franklin Mithika Linturi

Respondent Demographics

Who was interviewed for the State of the Nation survey (n=4,000)

Age

Religion

Gender

Male — 51%
Female — 49%

Employment

Level of Education

About InfoTrak Research & Consulting

Who conducted this poll

About InfoTrak

InfoTrak Research and Consulting is a professional research company founded and incorporated under the laws of Kenya in 2004, following the vision of the founder to provide the Pan-African market with suitable information solutions for the needs of the ever-growing economies. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, InfoTrak also has affiliate offices in Lagos, Nigeria, and field contacts in more than 20 other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Infotrak has proven to be an integral and reliable partner not only in providing business solutions but also governance & public policy insights.”

Vision & Mission

Vision: To be the leading Market & Social research firm in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mission: To be a one-stop information solutions provider to clients who want to be leaders in their fields.

InfoTrak Voice of the People Poll · President Ruto & His Cabinet Scorecard, September 2023 · InfoTrak Research & Consulting

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