Government defends policies as Muthuma warns against “default rejection” culture

Deputy Government Spokesperson Gabriel Muthuma has accused political actors and online misinformation of creating a culture of negativity that, he says, is distorting public understanding of government programmes and slowing national development.

Speaking on Radio Generation on Wednesday, Muthuma argued that many Kenyans had formed opinions on key government policies without directly interacting with them.

Using the Social Health Authority (SHA) as an example, he suggested that public criticism had often been driven more by narratives than personal experience.

"It was very fashionable... they say SHA is not working, but until you interact with that environment, that's when you realize, wait a minute, why have they been saying SHA is not working?" Muthuma said.

He described a conversation with an individual who had dismissed the health programme but had not enrolled or used it.

"At what point did you realize SHA wasn't working? Because you've not interacted, number one, with the system, you've not gone to hospital," he said.

Muthuma said what he called a growing culture of automatic rejection had increasingly shaped public debate in Kenya.

"The no has become like the default setting," he said. "It goes on to tell you that this default setting of saying no needs to change. It must, for us to realize where we are going as a country."

The remarks come at a time when the government continues to defend its communication around public policies, particularly following the heated debate surrounding finance legislation.

On Tuesday, President William Ruto, while signing the Finance Bill 2026 into law, rejected claims that it introduced additional burdens on ordinary citizens and attributed some public fears to false information circulating online and elsewhere.

"Let me state clearly: this law does not raise taxes on ordinary Kenyans," the president stated

He specifically dismissed claims of taxes on M-Pesa transactions, mobile phones, land ownership and other products that had featured prominently in public discussions.

Muthuma also pointed to development projects in neighbouring countries, arguing that excessive scepticism risks limiting Kenya's progress.

"We must be critical thinkers," he said, adding that national conversations should be driven by facts rather than politically charged narratives.