President William Ruto during the FCPA Barasa Governor’s Cup at Bukhungu Stadium, Kakamega County, on January 1, 2026. [PCS] President William Ruto has framed 2026 as the decisive year of implementation. The moment when promises mature into visible outcomes and when Kenyans are finally meant to “see the full picture”. Politically, this framing is neither accidental nor naive. It reflects a classic incumbency strategy: Delay judgment, buy time, and concentrate delivery narratives in the final stretch before the re-election campaign fully takes hold. Yet history and political economy offer a sobering warning. Governments are not ultimately judged by their intentions…
Author: By Gitile Naituli
President William Ruto during the FCPA Barasa Governor’s Cup at Bukhungu Stadium, Kakamega County, on January 1, 2026. [PCS] President William Ruto has framed 2026 as the decisive year of implementation. The moment when promises mature into visible outcomes and when Kenyans are finally meant to “see the full picture”. Politically, this framing is neither accidental nor naive. It reflects a classic incumbency strategy: Delay judgment, buy time, and concentrate delivery narratives in the final stretch before the re-election campaign fully takes hold. Yet history and political economy offer a sobering warning. Governments are not ultimately judged by their intentions…
Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Published Date: 2026-01-03 10:30:00 Author: By Gitile Naituli Source: The Standard
Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Published Date: 2026-01-03 00:00:00 Author: By Gitile Naituli Source: The Standard
Mutahi Ngunyi did not emerge from the wilderness to comment on Uhuru Kenyatta. He was not an outsider. He was an insider, deep inside. He served as a presidential adviser. [File, Standard] Kenyan politics has a cruel afterlife. It does not simply retire its actors; it recycles them, often in undignified ways. Power in Kenya is not merely exercised. It is remembered, resented, and weaponized long after it has left office. .fade-out-overlay { position: absolute; top: -80px; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 60px; z-index: 1; background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(255, 255, 255, 0), rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)); } .paywall-container { position:…
Mutahi Ngunyi did not emerge from the wilderness to comment on Uhuru Kenyatta. He was not an outsider. He was an insider, deep inside. He served as a presidential adviser. [File, Standard] Kenyan politics has a cruel afterlife. It does not simply retire its actors; it recycles them, often in undignified ways. Power in Kenya is not merely exercised. It is remembered, resented, and weaponized long after it has left office. .fade-out-overlay { position: absolute; top: -80px; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 60px; z-index: 1; background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(255, 255, 255, 0), rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)); } .paywall-container { position:…
Former Cabinet Minister and Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo died in a fatal road crash last week. The death of former Lugari MP and Regional Development Minister Cyrus Jirongo has been presented to the public as a tragic but uncomplicated road accident. A head-on collision. A moment of human error. An unfortunate end. Yet the more one examines the available details, the less stable this official narrative appears. What is being sold as a settled matter increasingly feels like a story hurried to a conclusion before the evidence has had its say. According to official accounts, Jirongo’s Mercedes-Benz E350 collided head-on…
National Cohesion and Integration Commission chairman Samuel Kobia. [File, Standard] Dear Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, Let me begin by commending the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) for finally rediscovering its voice. By summoning Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga over his reckless and regrettable remarks on the late Raila Odinga, you demonstrated that the Commission still remembers its founding purpose to guard the moral and social fabric of our Republic. For that, I say kudos. But Reverend, justice that is selective is injustice in disguise. For NCIC to be credible, it must be consistent. Its silence in the face of other,…
High level meeting between the Council of Governors and the Ministry of Health to deliberate on key issues in the Sector including implementation of UHC and Transition of UHC staff. [Courtesy, CoG X] Last week in the Senate, Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika faced a sobering interrogation on the state of her county’s financial governance. What emerged was not merely a local administrative lapse but a disturbing picture of systemic fragility within county governments across Kenya. The conversation, led by the Senate Public Accounts Committee, revealed that Nakuru County currently lacks a County Public Service Board, an Audit Committee, a Chief…
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during the inauguration of the benefits package and tarrifs advisory panel at Afya House, Nairobi, on May 26, 2025. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard] When Moses Kuria, a former CS in the Kenya Kwanza government and until recently a presidential adviser, warns that the administration has embarked on an anti-Kikuyu campaign, we must pause and listen carefully. In recent weeks, we have heard reckless statements from leaders like William Kamket, Jackson Mandago, and Aden Duale, all suggesting that a certain community considers itself superior, a deliberate attempt to resuscitate the ghosts of negative ethnicity as a political…
President William Ruto during the Hustler Fund launch on November 30, 2022 in Nairobi. [File, Standard] Once again, the Kenyan government is selling hope in a glittering package with the launch of the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme. On paper, NYOTA appears to be a well-intentioned youth empowerment initiative. With promises of business support grants, on-the-job stipends, and savings incentives, the programme claims to address the economic challenges facing young Kenyans. But scratch beneath the surface, and a familiar script reveals itself. One that we’ve seen before with the so-called Hustler Fund. A political gimmick dressed as an…
President William Ruto installs the public seal of the Republic of Kenya for the conferment of City status to Eldoret Municipality at the Eldoret Sports Club in Uasin Gishu County on August 15, 2025. [PCS] In a democracy governed by the rule of law, symbols matter. They are not merely ornamental—they are vessels of sovereignty, legality, and institutional memory. Among these is the Public Seal of the Republic of Kenya, a mark of authenticity on treaties, commercial agreements, and official instruments that bind the nation in perpetuity. It is, by design and legal assignment, to be held in solemn trust by a constitutionally…