TIFA Poll: Economic pain deepens as 76pc of Kenyans say country is headed in wrong direction
By Samson Kurgat – Nairobi, Kenya
A deepening sense of economic hardship and growing pessimism over the country’s future is emerging among Kenyans, with a new TIFA poll showing three-quarters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
The survey found that 76 per cent of respondents believe Kenya is moving in the wrong direction, the highest level recorded in TIFA’s tracking since March 2023, while only 15 per cent said the country was on the right path. The negative sentiment was strongest in Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Lower Eastern and South Rift, where at least eight in ten respondents expressed concern.
Economic pressure appears to be at the heart of the discontent. About two-thirds of Kenyans said their personal or household economic situation had worsened since the 2022 General Election, while only 12 per cent reported an improvement. TIFA also found that just 11 per cent of households reported monthly incomes above Sh50,000, underscoring the limited financial cushion available to many families.
Asked to identify Kenya’s most serious problem, unemployment and poverty topped the list at 44 per cent, followed by inflation, high prices and high taxes at 25 per cent. Combined, economic concerns accounted for nearly seven in ten responses, while corruption was a distant third at 19 per cent. TIFA noted that the economic concerns were broadly shared across political divides.
The findings also point to a crisis of confidence in public institutions. TIFA said trust levels remained below 40 per cent across the institutions assessed, with political affiliation strongly influencing perceptions. The biggest divide was recorded around President William Ruto, with trust significantly higher among supporters of the Broad-Based Government than among its opponents.
On governance and public demonstrations, 82 per cent of Kenyans said they support peaceful and lawful protests. However, 42 per cent blamed the national government and the President for violence during demonstrations, followed by the police at 24 per cent. The poll also found that 56 per cent of reported crime victims did not report their cases to police, with lack of confidence in police efficiency cited as the leading reason.
The findings paint a tough political and economic backdrop heading into the 2027 General Election. The survey indicates that Kenyans are far less concerned with political alignments than with the daily realities of employment, poverty, and prices. With public dissatisfaction tied directly to economic strain, addressing the cost of living and job creation will remain the core battleground for the political class.
