Why Uhuru has no moral authority to lecture Ruto
Opinion
By
Leonard Khafafa
| Oct 01, 2025
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s recent broadside against President William Ruto was strikingly uncharacteristic. Since his retirement in 2022, Mr Kenyatta had largely withdrawn from the political arena, maintaining a posture of dignified silence. His sudden, acerbic remarks depart markedly from the precedent set by Kenya’s previous heads of state, who, upon leaving office, generally refrained from public commentary on political affairs.
Uhuru has criticised Ruto’s administration, denouncing its performance across several key domains of governance. In a pointed rebuke, he recalled cautioning the nation against conferring the presidency upon a figure he characterised as “divisive and opportunistic.”
He attributed widespread economic hardship – and the resultant civil unrest – to the Ruto administration’s policy missteps and fiscal mismanagement. Furthermore, Uhuru accused his successor of undermining democratic principles citing what he termed a “betrayal of democratic norms,” and lamenting a perceived erosion of the institutional integrity that underpins constitutional order.
Uhuru appears to be the most ardent believer in his own mythos. Speaking in a tone that borders on condescension, he seems to overlook a crucial political reality: The last presidential election was won largely due to protest votes against his handpicked successor. Many Kenyans cast their ballots, not in favour of an alternative vision, but to reject what they perceived as an attempted consolidation of power – a hegemonistic grip exercised through a proxy presidency.
The following facts undermine Uhuru’s claims to political, social and economic success. To begin with, he inherited an economy that was on a stable and sustainable growth trajectory. Under President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 50.7 per cent in 2013 – well within the recommended threshold for developing economies – and a marked reversal of the upward trend in public debt seen in previous years.
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However, upon assuming office, Uhuru embarked on an aggressive spree of large-scale infrastructure projects, financed primarily through high-interest commercial loans. This short-term, expensive borrowings significantly strained the country’s fiscal position, bringing Kenya dangerously close to defaulting on its sovereign debt obligations. By the end of his tenure, the debt-to-GDP ratio had ballooned to nearly 70 per cent, a level widely regarded as unsustainable.
The Auditor General’s 2019 report highlights significant lapses in economic governance that have inflicted profound hardship on its citizens. Notably, a portion of the USD 2 billion Eurobond secured in 2014 was diverted to general budgetary spending, rather than being allocated to specific development projects as mandated by the Public Finance Management Act. Furthermore, additional reports revealed that nearly USD 1 billion in proceeds from the same Eurobond were never deposited into the government’s designated public funds account.
As Uhuru extolled his administration’s healthcare initiatives for expectant mothers, he omitted the scandals that imperiled the lives of Kenya’s most vulnerable citizens. Among these was the 2016 Afya House scandal, involving the misappropriation of Sh5 billion earmarked for free maternity care and HIV programmes. Equally egregious was the 2020 Covid-19 funds scandal, in which Sh7.8 billion allocated for personal protective equipment and essential medical supplies was misused. When it comes to fiscal accountability and good governance, Uhuru is one to talk!
Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst