Twelve years after Mwai Kibaki vacated office as President and three years since he died, his name has in recent weeks dramatically returned to shape political debate ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a country rocked by dissent and economic challenges, President William Ruto's administration sometimes claims Mr Kibaki’s success story as its lodestar while at the same time being criticised for being nowhere close even as the opposition pledges to emulate the good times associated with the third president.
Mr Kibaki came into office in January 2003 and made a mark by mobilising local taxes to fund development, rolling out of creative policies and initiating economic growth. The Kibaki story is often considered even more remarkable considering that he inherited an economy devastated by Daniel Moi’s 24-year rule. This legacy was, however, tainted by the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
Last week, as she intensified her criticism of President Ruto’s administration for its economic failures, People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua turned to President Kibaki’s tenure for inspiration on how Kenya can live within its means and fight corruption.
"We demand the return of a rule that will bring back the Kibaki moment when citizens ejected private tenants from the Kenya International Conference Centre and handed it back to government; and when citizens were arresting corrupt traffic police officers on our roads courtesy of executive goodwill," she said, adding that the Ruto administration is the direct opposite of the Kibaki years whose key principles the opposition now wanted to restore.
Besides Ms Karua, President Ruto , Deputy President Kithure Kindiki , Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua , Wiper Democratic Party boss Mr Kalonzo Musyoka , DAP-Kenya boss Eugene Wamalwa, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri are among the most vocal in invoking the Kibaki name to promote their causes.
While the Mwai Kibaki Memorial lecture in April this year became the theatre of such debate, the comparisons with this era have been common political currency.
Judy Kibaki, daughter to the late former President Mwai Kibaki, makes her remarks during the second Mwai Kibaki Memorial Lecture and Luncheon in Nairobi on April 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
For instance, in January, 2025 Prof Kindiki told off President Ruto’s critics saying "he is a man firmly walking in the shoes of Kibaki and you will come to love him all the way to 2032".
Speaking when he met a delegation from Tharaka Nithi County in his official residence at Nairobi’s Karen, the Deputy President cited Kibaki’s administration, which he said “faced the most difficult times in his first term and became unpopular”.
Besides the economic challenges, which triggered the Gen Z protests last June, the discontent against the Ruto administration has included criticism against abductions linked to security agencies and unfulfilled promises. A common display of the restlessness has been the “Ruto Must Go” chants.
Prof Kindiki interprets these challenges as a blessing to President Ruto since nearly similar episodes and criticisms were part of President Kibaki’s 10-year tenure but in the end he was vindicated.
President William Ruto with former president Mwai Kibaki.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
"Kibaki lost a referendum (in 2005) and dissolved his Cabinet, yet he remains the most consequential former president. Dr Ruto is facing the same challenges and has remained steadfast in his mission to transform Kenya,” Prof Kindiki said.
What caused an uproar was Kindiki's assertion that President Ruto has since done much more since his 2022 election than Kibaki did in his first five-year term between 2003 and 2007.
“President Ruto is on the right track to improving our economy,” the Deputy President said.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has since vowed to make President Ruto a one-term State House tenant, says Kibaki’s name should be respected and not invoked in vain.
Speaking in Nairobi during the lecture to honour President Kibaki, Mr Gachagua said "reflecting and celebrating the legacy of Kenya's third President, whose impact on the nation remains deeply felt cannot have space for President Ruto's name as a comparison".
"Kibaki remains the direct opposite of President Ruto...The Kibaki we know was a symbol of humility, integrity, and transformative leadership," he added.
Former Deputy president Rigathi Gachagua makes his remarks during the 2nd Mwai Kibaki Memorial Lecture and Luncheon held at the Serena Hotel on April 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
He said that from President Kibaki’s commitment to free primary education and stewardship of economic recovery and infrastructure development, Kibaki's legacy continues to inspire both current and emerging leaders.
As he prepares to unveil his Mountain party on May 15, Mr Gachagua has hinted that he intends to adopt the ideals of President Kibaki's Democratic Party of Kenya.
Mr Musyoka, the Wiper leader who was President Kibaki’s vice President during the Grand Coalition government from 2008 to 2013, has also used the former Head of State’s name to bolster his credentials
"I am a good and keen student of Mr Kibaki whose knowledge for economic affairs was astounding. I have his notes and I was there as he applied the economic magic to get our country back into international respects. That is the rule we are offering to bring back into this country," he said during the memorial lecture.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka makes his remarks during the second Mwai Kibaki Memorial Lecture and Luncheon at Serena Hotel, Nairobi on April 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
"The current administration saying it has the same accolades as those of Kibaki's rule is an insult to the spirit of the departed economic genius. President Ruto being compared with President Kibaki is a sad joke," Mr Musyoka added.
DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa — whose brother Kijana Wamalwa died in August 2003 after briefly deputising President Kibaki — said "Kibaki remains the best thing ever” for Kenya.
On his part, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya on April 24, 2025 told the Nation that "what I'm currently doing in my devolved unit is to implement the Kibaki dream and I remain readily available to implement it nationally”.
"I had the pleasure of serving under Mr Kibaki when I was appointed the Personal Assistant to the Interior boss John Michuki. Mr Kibaki knew how to appoint workers to deliver his great economic plan. Mr Kibaki gave his ministers freedom to operate. His was not a one man show," Mr Natembeya said.
"We do not remember Kibaki for the stories he told or for the words he spoke. We remember him for the transformative projects under his name.
That is my drive as I serve my Kiharu people and legislating in Parliament," he said.
Mr Nyoro has gone ahead to warn that the country must be taken back "to those good days when we had a workable fiscal policy that sought to make us self-reliant in financing our budget".
Mr Nyoro on April 24, 2025 told President Ruto to stop the borrowing spree the economy is currently on and instead focus on mobilising local finances without overtaxing people.
However, Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri, an ally of President Ruto, says "you cannot claim Kibaki's name to be your guiding light yet in the positions you have so far held came up with nothing to support your claim".
He said Mr Musyoka has been in successive governments since the 1980s, while Mr Gachagua has been a confidante of president Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto but is yet to show any economic renaissance he can be credited with.
He added; "President Ruto remains the most practical opportunity to rediscover the Kibaki magic since he is in office and with the resources that can make it happen in the next seven years as opposed to believing a promise that seeks to delay that moment for two years."
Mr Kiunjuri said it had become fashionable for some politicians to invoke President Kibaki’s name while shepherding their followers to be rebels without a cause.
