Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Secretary for Planning and Economic Affairs Dr Peter Mbae has accused President William Ruto of neglecting Kenya’s Constitution for much of his first term before suddenly making constitutionalism and national dialogue central to his public messaging.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation on Monday, Mbae questioned the need for another national conversation, arguing that the President’s primary responsibility is to implement the Constitution and uphold the rights and institutions established under it.
“Nobody wants any conversation with anybody. The president, his work is to follow the Constitution and implement it, which he has avoided for the last four years. Suddenly, he has become born again,” Mbae said.
His remarks come weeks after President Ruto called for a national conversation to help Kenya develop a new long-term development vision beyond Vision 2030. In a July 30, 2026 address, Ruto said the proposed conversation should be people-driven and anchored in the aspirations of the Constitution.
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Mbae, however, questioned the basis for another political engagement centred on constitutional issues, arguing that the government should first focus on implementing the Constitution rather than initiating a fresh national conversation.
He accused the administration of having avoided its constitutional obligations for much of its four-year tenure before suddenly making constitutionalism a prominent theme.
His remarks came after President Ruto announced a nationwide conversation on Kenya’s future beyond Vision 2030, which he said would be anchored in the aspirations of the 2010 Constitution.
The DCP official’s criticism comes against a backdrop of repeated confrontations between the Executive, courts and citizens over constitutional rights during Ruto’s presidency.
Human Rights Watch reported that senior government officials, including the President, criticised courts that issued decisions against government policies.
It also cited Ruto’s declaration that courts would not stop his administration from deploying police to Haiti, despite an earlier court order blocking the deployment.
The record on public demonstrations has also become a major part of the constitutional debate.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) recorded 39 deaths, 361 injuries, 32 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearance and 627 arrests between June 18 and July 1, 2024, during protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
By November 2024, the commission had documented 1,376 arbitrary arrests, 610 injuries and 74 cases of enforced disappearance, with 26 people still missing at the time of its report.
The violence continued into 2025. KNCHR recorded 19 fatalities, 531 injuries, 15 enforced disappearances and 179 arrests by June 27, 2025, following demonstrations marking the first anniversary of the 2024 protests.
On July 8, the commission reported 31 deaths, 107 injuries, two enforced disappearances and 532 arrests linked to the Saba Saba demonstrations.
Courts have also found violations of constitutional rights. In April 2025, the High Court ruled that police actions during the 2024 protests violated rights protected under Articles 10, 27, 28, 29, 37, 49, 73 and 244 of the Constitution.
Moving on, Mbae further criticised the President’s recent national address, claiming media houses were forced to interrupt regular programming to broadcast it.
“You know that he called off all the news media. Your journalists have been all over the place looking for news. Then at seven, he comes and overtakes it and just lectures for those six minutes. Then he tells us that we are going to have a conversation,” Mbae said.
The criticism also comes as the government faces continuing questions over constitutional amendments.
In September 2025, the High Court heard a petition challenging proposed constitutional changes and noted arguments that Parliament had failed to enact referendum legislation 14 years after the 2010 Constitution came into force.
Mbae maintained that Kenyans do not need another political process to determine what should already be governed by the Constitution.
His comments are likely to add to an increasingly contested political debate ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the government presenting national dialogue as a way of shaping Kenya’s future, while critics argue that the priority should instead be strict adherence to the Constitution, protection of rights and respect for independent institutions.