Opposition leaders on Tuesday accused President William Ruto of running the country through “constitutional shortcuts,” saying he never believed in the current Constitution and is now abusing it “at every opportunity”.
The leaders cited corruption, institutional decay, questionable privatisation deals, huge unbudgeted “empowerment” programmes and human rights violations.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) chief Rigathi Gachagua and Development Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) boss Eugene Wamalwa spoke in Matunda village, Gatanga constituency in Murang’a County during the burial of Herbert Kariithi Macharia.
Macharia, who died in a road accident, worked for the United Nations in Ethiopia and was the husband of Ms Pellagia Muthoni, an official of Mr Gachagua’s DCP.
The three opposition bosses accused the President of lacking passion for inclusive leadership, adding that he is “obsessed with state capture, where loyalty is rewarded with government resources, opportunities and deals – contrary to constitutional ideals of integrity and respect for sovereign power”.
After being declared the winner of the presidential election in 2022, he swore to uphold it when he took the oath of office.
Mr Musyoka, Mr Gachagua and Mr Wamalwa said the President has shown no genuine commitment to the Constitution and has instead been “competing with it” and sowing discontent that culminated in the Gen-Z uprising of June 2024.
They vowed not to leave “any mathematical chance” for President Ruto’s re-election in 2027, adding that they would mobilise a cohesive, people-driven democratic movement to campaign against him.
The leaders also accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of being part of the President’s 2027 re-election scheme, saying they would target “errant” commissioners and staff in individual lawsuits.
“We want to inform IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon, Chief Executive Hussein Marjan, commissioners and employees that we are changing tactic. We will no longer sue the commission as an institution, we will pursue individual culpability,” Mr Musyoka said.
Mr Ethekon has distanced IEBC from reports of election manipulation, accusing politicians of being the genesis of violence.
“It is impossible to steal votes in Kenya. The problem is politicians who run amok during elections, resorting to intimidation, violence and polling station sieges. They later disparage the IEBC,” Mr Ethekon said in Nairobi on Monday.
“It is individuals who blemish them. Those who exhibit signs of being rogue will be sued,” the Wiper leader said.
He added that abductions, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, corruption and institutional collapse show “Ruto has carried into his presidency the same abhorrence for the Constitution he displayed earlier”.
Mr Gachagua said the President is panicking because of the possibility of the opposition rolling back “the many personal and allied gains he has accrued”.
“That is why he is attempting to scuttle the opposition. He resorts to presidential utterances, using brutality and insults against those he sees as dissenters,” he said.
He added that the government is focused on dividing and intimidating opposition leaders “because it has realised we mean business”.
“The President and his handlers are especially scared that Mt Kenya has severed ties with him and is not part of his re-election bid,” Mr Gachagua said.
“We will not accept saboteurs. Anyone who wants to win Mt Kenya must come through the front door. Those who want the back door won’t have it easy. This is a political family you least understand,” he said.
“They are portraying Gachagua as a national bogeyman since his impact is giving them sleepless nights. Their agenda is to demolish the pillars of the opposition. If we lose Gachagua, we are done. Kasongo (Ruto) will eat us raw,” he said.
“He speaks the truth. I like the way he confronts tough issues and simplifies them into action plans,” he said.
“We feared it was a national security threat. We tried to save him and the country. After President Ruto messed up, we joined Gachagua to hold the country together,” he said.
