Former Chief Justice David Maraga has issued a stark warning about the state of the nation, saying Kenya is on the verge of becoming a failed state.
Speaking during an interview on K24 on July 21, 2025, Maraga voiced deep concern over the country’s worsening political and economic conditions.
“Look at what is happening in the country. We are getting into a failed state,” he said, urging leaders to take urgent action to address the mounting crisis.
Maraga criticised the government’s handling of recent anti-government protests, saying the suppression of constitutional rights and the violent response by security forces were signs of deepening democratic decay.
“There is a political and economic crisis in the country that needs to be addressed squarely,” he said, adding that the public’s right to protest—protected by the Constitution—was under threat.
“We have never heard in a democratic state where the right to picket, which is in the constitution, is clamped upon, and those who are picketing, instead of addressing their issues, you want to silence them,” he added.
The former CJ also took issue with President William Ruto’s controversial directive to police to shoot protesters in the leg, a move that has sparked widespread criticism.
“We have not heard in a peaceful state or in any state for that matter, a president issuing orders to shoot. I know he said you shot in the leg. How many people have been shot in the leg and have died?” Maraga asked.
“Even if it doesn’t end in fatality, a president to order the shooting of people?”
Maraga also condemned the branding of protesting youth as terrorists, saying the accusation carries serious legal implications and is being misapplied.
“Why? Because these people are considered arsonists? And instead of dealing with that case, now they are taking those young people as terrorists,” he said.
“You know terrorism is a very serious offence. It is an offence in most cases involving explosives. What explosives did these people have? What weapons did they have? Nothing at all.”
His remarks come in the wake of President Ruto’s July 9 directive, where he told police to shoot protesters targeting businesses in the legs.
“Anyone caught burning another person’s business or property should be shot in the leg, hospitalised, and later taken to court. Don’t kill them, but ensure their legs are broken,” the president said.
Human rights groups and the United Nations have condemned the government’s use of force. According to a state-run body, at least 31 people were killed during Monday’s protests.
Opposition leaders on July 8 accused the government of unleashing violence by deploying unmarked police vehicles and arming gangs in opposition strongholds.
They have since called for a nationwide boycott of businesses linked to President Ruto’s allies, accusing his administration of state-sponsored violence and extrajudicial killing.