Former Nyeri Town MP, Wambugu Ngunjiri, has called for a candid national conversation on historical grievances, arguing that unresolved land disputes and perceptions of marginalisation continue to shape Kenya’s politics.
He also said critics of President William Ruto should focus on holding the Head of State accountable in office rather than continuing political battles that ended with the 2022 election.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Tuesday, Ngunjiri said recent debates sparked by remarks from political leaders such as UDA SG, Hassan Omar, had exposed deeper issues that Kenya has struggled to address for decades.
Ngunjiri’s remarks were referencing Hassan Omar, who reportedly made the comments on historical land injustices on Thursday, May 22, 2026, during a Coast political rally attended by government leaders, including President William Ruto.
During the event, SG Omar criticised what he described as economic and political exclusion in the Coast region, linking it to long-standing, unresolved land ownership disputes stretching from the colonial period into the post-independence era.
According to former Nyeri legislator, discussions about land and historical injustices cannot be reduced to isolated political statements because similar grievances exist in different regions of the country.
“The danger about the remarks is that they can be replicated in very many places. That argument applies not just at the Coast. When you start having that conversation about people who have taken land, where would you stop? There’s always going to be a grievance of land in any part of the country,” he highlighted.
Omar went further and explained that Coastal communities had suffered historical dispossession and economic marginalisation, framing the issue as part of broader structural injustices that still affect development and ownership patterns in the region.
His remarks triggered backlash from leaders in the Mt Kenya region, who accused him of ethnic profiling, prompting a political storm within the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
Ngunjiri's criticism is rooted in the view that the statement risked re-opening sensitive national land debates in a divisive ethnic framing, despite Hassan Omar later insisting his comments were misunderstood and apologising for any offence caused.
The former Nyeri MP argued that disputes over land ownership remain complicated because they often involve families, communities, and historical events stretching back generations.
“Sometimes you feel we are too close to the problem to deal with it. In nearly every family in Mount Kenya, you had two kinds of people. You had people who are now called home guards and you had Mau Mau. That challenge is what makes the conversation about land and historical grievances so complicated,” he stated.
He noted that many land disputes revolve around competing interpretations of history, with current generations questioning whether previous transactions were genuinely fair.
“The owners of the land will argue that they have all the documentation that is required. The question is always, did the people who were selling the land understand? The children of the people who sold land are saying you took advantage of my father,” he explained.
Ngunjiri also questioned why communities frequently blame outsiders for underdevelopment while failing to scrutinise leaders elected to represent them.
He argued that voters often disconnect from leaders immediately after elections, weakening accountability and allowing development failures to persist.
On President William Ruto, the former legislator highlighted that political opponents must accept the outcome of the 2022 election and focus on evaluating the administration’s performance rather than continuing campaign-era battles.
This comes in the midst of opposition figures, including DCP Party leader Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper Leader, Kalonzo Musyoka, continuing campaign-era battles against President William Ruto due to unresolved 2022 electoral rivalries, shifting coalitions, and contested legitimacy narratives.
The absence of a clear post-election consensus has kept political mobilisation active, with leaders sustaining regional support bases while criticising government policy, particularly on the economy and governance direction.
He concluded that citizens should now focus on ensuring the government delivers on its promises.
“Once the country voted for President William Ruto, what we needed to adjust is how we engage with him to make sure that he delivers as president. Starting to poke holes in him and trying to take us back to where he was before becoming president doesn’t help us,” Ngunjiri stated.
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