United Opposition Spokesperson, Mukhisa Kituyi, has warned that the country is trapped in politics without ideas, a crippled opposition, and leaders who do not understand the economy they are running.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Thursday, he said Kenya’s elections reward hatred over policy, and urged creating a safe exit for any president to enable peaceful transitions.
According to Kituyi, the ideological battles tearing apart ODM today reflect a deeper struggle over the soul of Kenya’s democracy.
He described a confrontation between those he called the heirs of the spirit of Odinga and “opportunists who came on board because Raila was building a party that could help them win elections.”
He warned that unless the original reformist wing triumphs, Parliament will be left with a crippled opposition, dependent on activism outside Parliament and loud, clear leadership from the formal opposition parties that are emerging.
On the current Parliamentary conduct, he blasted it as “a disgrace, sacrilegious actions against a dignified institution as the Speaker’s office.”
He said the treatment of legislators raising legitimate issues illustrates the failure that “we are seeing.”
Kituyi admitted that the United Opposition still struggles to communicate a compelling alternative narrative.
In a moment of candour, he said, “Everything I see about this United Opposition does not speak of profound thinking.”
He argued that opposition movements spend too much time attacking the government and too little time presenting a structured, credible alternative.
But Kituyi insisted that his role within the movement is to rebuild discipline and structure.
Drawing from his experience forming NARC ahead of the 2002 election, he said, “People were there because of their shared hatred for Moi and KANU, not because of any positive shared agenda. It was painstaking, but we put structure to it.”
“The road is littered with all manner of landmines and ugly hurdles. Having somebody who says ‘we have been through this’ is part of the added responsibility I think a leader of my generation can contribute.”
Kituyi also emphasised the importance of managing political transitions responsibly, recalling lessons from the Kibaki era.
“If you genuinely want to reduce the cost of political transition, give him a route of escape that you will not dehumanize him when he’s out of office,” he said.
He praised President Kibaki’s decision to grant Daniel arap Moi his long-occupied residence, calling it “a statement of political maturity.”
He said this logic must guide the 2027 transition debate: “As we go towards the inevitability of Ruto leaving office, we must open avenues that he will have a chance to live a dignified life as a former president.”
Turning to governance, Kituyi criticized the Kenya Kwanza administration, saying, “The current government does not believe that the citizenry must be wealthy for the country to be wealthy. Do they even understand it?”
He accused county governments of drowning in corruption and incompetence: “With very few exceptions, we seem to have a bunch of people who are completely and thoroughly incompetent.”
