When President William Ruto walked into the public square this week and loudly accused Members of Parliament of taking bribes, one could almost mistake it for courage.
He painted himself as a leader disgusted by corruption in the Legislature, vowing arrests if names were provided. But beneath the noise lies an undeniable truth: the President himself is the architect and beneficiary of Kenya’s bribery culture in Parliament. His hands are not clean, and his accusations are nothing more than a hollow charade.
Let us not forget how we arrived here. The first thing William Ruto did upon assuming power in 2022 was not to build a national consensus, strengthen the rule of law, or deliver on his campaign promises. No, his first political move was to raid the opposition benches.
Starved of numbers in Parliament, Ruto turned to the oldest trick in Kenya’s dirty political playbook: buying loyalty. He lured opposition MPs and independents to his side with promises of plum committee positions, cash inducements, and state patronage. Overnight, a fragile minority government turned into a commanding majority. That majority was not built on ideology, policy, or conviction. It was built on money, bribery, and the corruption of parliamentary independence.
This is the context that makes the President’s sudden outcry against bribery so laughable. How can the very man whose fingerprints are all over the buying of Parliament now turn around and pretend to be shocked that MPs are corruptible? How can the same hand that fed the vice now wave in righteous indignation? It is the height of hypocrisy.
We all know that the Finance Bill 2024, one of the most contentious pieces of legislation in recent memory, did not pass on merit. It passed because the state machinery was deployed to intimidate, coerce, and, yes, bribe MPs into submission. Those who resisted faced threats, budget cuts, or outright political isolation. Those who complied were rewarded handsomely. If the President wants names of bribed MPs, he does not need whistle-blowers. He needs only to look in the mirror.
President William Ruto chairs a joint ODM–Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group meeting in Karen on August 18, 2025.
Photo credit: PCS
Kenyans are not fools. The people may struggle with poverty and joblessness, but they are not stupid. They see through the President’s theatrics. When Ruto claims he will have bribed MPs arrested but then adds he will “not shame them”, it is obvious he is playing both judge and defence counsel. He is not interested in accountability. He is interested in a political show — an incursion meant to distract the public from the failures of his administration, the soaring cost of living, and the corruption scandals that keep piling up around his government.
And let us be clear: nothing will come of these threats. No MP will be arrested. No case will be prosecuted. No precedent will be set. Because the rot is not in Parliament alone; it is in State House itself. Ruto knows that dragging MPs into court over bribery would eventually lead straight back to his doorstep. The money trail does not end in the constituencies. It ends in the Executive.
This is why Kenyans must call out this deceit with one voice. Corruption in Parliament cannot be addressed by the same presidency that engineered it. Accountability cannot be demanded by those who thrive in impunity. If President Ruto were serious about fighting bribery, he would begin by submitting himself and his government to investigation. He would open up the State House books, disclose the inducements offered to MPs in 2022, and explain how a minority administration magically morphed into a parliamentary juggernaut within weeks of his swearing-in. He would tell us who bankrolled those defections, and at what cost to the taxpayer. Anything less is mere lip service.
President William Ruto chairs a joint ODM–Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group meeting in Karen alongside opposition leader Raila Odinga on August 18, 2025.
Photo credit: PCS
What we are witnessing is a pattern. Every time the regime feels the public heat, it manufactures drama. It throws a smoke bomb to confuse the masses. Today it is bribery in Parliament. Tomorrow it will be a new task force or commission of inquiry. The aim is not to fix Kenya’s problems but to control the narrative and buy time. Meanwhile, ordinary Kenyans continue to drown under the weight of high taxes, unemployment, and a collapsed healthcare system.
So, Mr President, let us be honest. You will not arrest anyone. You will not prosecute anyone. You will not name anyone. Because to do so would be to name yourself. This charade may play well in the faraway places where you stage your impromptu visits, but the rest of the country is not that gullible. Kenya has grown tired of hollow threats and hypocritical lectures.
If you are truly committed to ending corruption in Parliament, then begin where it matters most — at the top. Submit yourself, your office, and your administration to scrutiny. Show us the receipts of how you cobbled together your parliamentary majority. Explain how public resources have been diverted to buy political loyalty. Then, and only then, will your words carry weight. Until then, stop insulting Kenyans with empty noise. We are not dumb. We are not stupid. We see your fingerprints on every parliamentary bribe. And we refuse to be distracted by your theatrics.
The writer served as National Assembly Speaker, Attorney-General and Public Service Cabinet Secretary
