Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Dr. Erastus Edung Ethekon during the swearing in of the commission at Supreme Court on July 11, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] When Kenyans overwhelmingly passed the 2010 Constitution, one of their boldest statements was this: The people are sovereign. They embedded this truth in nearly every chapter of the Constitution. Among its most powerful tools of accountability is Article 104- the right of voters to recall a Member of Parliament (MP). This provision was meant to ensure that no elected leader could grow arrogant or complacent without consequence. Now, however, the…
Author: By Gitobu Imanyara
President William Ruto chairs a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi, on April 29, 2025. [File, Standard] They keep telling us that Kenya is broke. That there’s no money for education. That we must be patient as the government “rationalises” spending. But every year, without fail, Parliament finds the money. Capitation is approved. Billions are allocated. Budgets pass. State House cheers. Cabinet Secretaries beam for the cameras. MPs post updates boasting how much they’ve “secured” for schools in their constituencies. And yet, the crisis on the ground deepens. So why are head teachers borrowing money to buy chalk? Why are…
Deputy President William Ruto receives a wheelbarrow as a gift from residents in Mathira,Nyeri, on October 31,2020. After he presided over a fundraiser to support a women group and a bodaboda Sacco. [Kibata Kihu/Standard] The crisis engulfing Kenya today, economic despair, repression and betrayal,did not come out of the blue. It is a direct result of a collective national mistake: Knowingly elevating a man riddled with red flags to the presidency. The pain and regret Kenyans now endure should provoke not just outrage but deep soul-searching. Because William Ruto didn’t simply rise to power; he was enabled by votes, silence,…
Gen Z protester cycles on the Thika Road Highway upside down as other protesters cheer during the Gen Z 1st anniversary led protests on 25th June 2025. [David Gichuru, Standard] “Tribal politics is for our parents. We are beyond tribes.” These words were spoken to a teacher friend of mine by one of his students, a young Kenyan who has grown up in the shadow of our nation’s political failures, but who still dares to dream of a country different from the one we inherited. The student wasn’t being disrespectful to our elders, rather, she was naming a profound truth that Kenya’s youth are now living: we are no longer bound by the chains of…
Specialised squad believed to be Recce arrives at a building along TomMboya street ,Nairobi where a lone gun man on the second floor of the building is believed to have shot and injured a police officer when demonstrators mainly youths staged a protest against the government on Tuesday,July 02,2024. [Collins Kweyu,Standard] There comes a time in the life of every regime when its desperation becomes impossible to mask. For President William Ruto’s government, that time is now. The decision to charge peaceful protesters – many of them young, unarmed, and constitutionally protected – with terrorism marks a disturbing and dangerous…
President William Ruto with is Deputy Kithure Kindiki address residents after the launch of the Sogoo-Melelo-Ololung’a Road on the second day of his tour of Narok County, May 7, 2025. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard] President William Ruto has a question for Kenyans: “Why didn’t you ever direct this kind of anger at those who came before me?” On the surface, it’s a plea for fairness. But beneath it lies a startling refusal to confront reality. The real question isn’t why his predecessors didn’t face the same level of outrage. It is why he, of all presidents, is facing it now. The answer is clear:…
Wajir Woman Rep Fatuma Jehow Meet some of the flamboyant and beautiful Female MPs at the 13th Parliament. Nairobi 20th,2022. [FILE/Standard] In a country where elections are often marred by suspicion, violence, and irregularities, it is chilling, though not surprising, to hear a sitting legislator boast openly about plans to commit electoral fraud. Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Jehow’s declaration that “we’ll steal votes for Ruto, that’s no secret,” is not merely an offhand joke or a moment of reckless bravado. It is a confession. A confession to a crime. A confession to the betrayal of the people’s will. And more…
West End Supermarket in Free Area was vandalized and looted by suspected criminals hiding among protestors during the Saba Saba unrest in Nakuru City. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard] The images of burned shops, looted supermarkets and charred business premises from Mt Kenya during the Saba Saba demonstrations were heartbreaking. For many, it seemed like the violence targeted Kikuyus. But here’s the truth many ignorant voices, including those in government, refuse to confront: the loss was not just for Mt Kenya. The loss was Kenyan. The destruction of businesses, whether owned by Kikuyus, Merus, Embus or anyone else, is not a regional wound. It is national haemorrhage. This country has paid a heavy price for…
ODM leader Raila Odinga addresses the Press on Saba Saba anniversary at Serena Hotel in Nairobi, on July 7, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] Fellow Kenyans, I have read with keen interest the statement issued on Monday by my comrade of the struggle, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, reflecting on the thirty-fifth anniversary of Saba Saba and calling for a “national intergenerational conclave.” His recollection of our shared history is largely accurate in many places and selective in others. I therefore feel obliged on behalf of the thousands who bled and still bleed for freedom, to respond candidly and place the record…
Senator Okiya Omtatah (center) joins Gen-Z protesters along Kimathi Street as they remembered 60 young people who died in last year’s finance bill demonstrations on June 25, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] On 7 July, 1990 we filled the streets, the courts, the jails and, ultimately, the nation’s imagination. We marched for multiparty democracy, (I didn’t make it to Kamukunji, since I was in Nyayo House torture chambers having been arrested three days earlier and subsequently detained without trial together with Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Raila Odinga, John Khaminwa and Mohamed Ibrahim), risking death and detention under a regime that treated…
In his remarks to the nation both before and after Wednesday’s Gen Z protests President William Ruto has been clear on where he stands with regard to recent youth-led demonstrations. He has sided with the police. In making that choice the President ignores hard lessons of history. He is a poor student of history. In every era, across every continent, when the old order has proven stubborn and deaf to reason, it is the youth who have stood up to jolt history awake. From the alleyways of Prague in 1968 to the blood-stained streets of Soweto in 1976, from Tiananmen…
KTN News Center. [File, Standard] On Wednesday, the rule of law lay wounded. Its dignity bruised, its authority threatened, and its life hanging in the balance. The cold barrel of a gun was pressed against its head, not just by rogue criminals, but by the hands meant to uphold and defend it. Kenya is in a constitutional crisis of conscience, one where the State is emerging as the lead violator of the law. On this dark day, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), through its Director General David Mugonyi, a journalist by profession, issued a directive that defies legal boundaries…
An injured man being aided by Gen-Z protesters along Moi Avenue as they remember 60 young people who died in last years reject the finance bill demonstrations on June 25, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] I begin this column by honouring the fallen, the young lives cut short by police bullets, the brave citizens maimed for daring to speak truth to power, and those still lying in hospital beds, their bodies bearing the scars of a government’s violent contempt. These are not nameless statistics. They are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, Kenyans whose only ‘crime’ was believing they had the right to…
State sponsored goons whipping journalists and protestors along Waiyaki Way during Justice For Ojwang Protests on June 17, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] The near-total anarchy witnessed in Nairobi last Tuesday should worry us. And learn lessons. What began in Sudan as a militia proxy to crush rebellion has mutated into a monstrous force seeking domination of a country. The Janjaweed of Sudan, once a paramilitary tool of the state, has now turned its guns on the very system that created it. From helping suppress demands for justice and equality in Darfur to laying siege on Khartoum in pursuit of total control, the…
Treasury CS John Mbadi during the 2025 Budget reading on June 12th,2025 at Parliament. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] Kenyans must ask some difficult but necessary questions regarding this year’s budget. How do counties fund healthcare without the money? How do they pay doctors, buy essential drugs, or keep hospitals running when billions meant for devolved health services are still locked up in Nairobi? Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, make this make sense. The numbers tell a story of deliberate sabotage of devolution. Let us break it down. Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, a single national hospital in Eldoret, will receive Sh10.8…
DIG Eliud Lagat during a press briefing following the death of Albert Ojwang in police custody at Central Police Station, Nairobi. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] This week, the Eliud Lagat affair has exposed, with chilling clarity, the depths to which President William Ruto’s administration is willing to sink in its contempt for Kenyans. The message has been delivered unambiguously: no amount of public outcry, no volume of protests, and no evidence of wrongdoing will compel this administration to hold one of its own accountable. Instead, the state has chosen defiance, stonewalling, and ultimately, a dangerous game of political attrition—dragging out…
An activist protset outside the Nairobi Funeral home at the Mbagathi way- Ngong road round-about demanding justice following Albert Ojwang’s death while in police custody. June 9, 2025. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] Albert Ojwang was arrested from his home in Migori County. In broad daylight. In front of his father and other relatives. There were no guns drawn, no resistance offered. He was calm. He believed in the rule of law. When the police accused him of “false publication,” he cooperated. Like any responsible citizen, he trusted that justice would run its course—that he would be given his day in court, and that…
Deceased influencer Albert Ojwang. Albert Ojwang was arrested at his home in Migori County. In broad daylight. In front of his father and other relatives. There were no guns drawn, no resistance offered. He was calm. He believed in the rule of law. When the police accused him of ‘false publication,’ he cooperated. Like any responsible citizen, he trusted that justice would run its course, that he would be given his day in court, and that he would return home to his wife and his infant child. And to his students. Instead, Albert Ojwang ended up dead. In the…
Activist Rose Njeri when she was arraigned at Milimani court,Nairobi on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 over alleged offense of cyber crime. [Collins Kweyu,Standard] The arrest of Rose Njeri on a Friday of a long weekend to keep her in unlawful custody marks an ominous return of the dark past, dating back to the 1990s. I have been a victim, so I know what I am talking about. When Parliament published an official email address inviting public feedback on the Finance Bill 2025, it was performing its constitutional duty to promote citizen participation in legislation. It did not limit how many…
A protester flees from teargas lobbed at along Moi Avenue, Nairobi during the anti-government protests on July 16,2024. [Collins Kweyu, Standard] On a calm afternoon, President William Ruto stood before the nation and issued a half-hearted apology to Kenya’s youth. “If the Gen Zs were wronged, then sorry,” he said, brushing past a moment that should have been marked by solemn national reflection. It was not the apology Kenya needed. It was a pseudo-lawyerly deflection masquerading as empathy. And that “if”—small as it is—did too much heavy lifting. It suspended truth in midair, as though there is still ambiguity over…
National Assembly’s Finance Committee Chair Molo MP Kimani Kuria displays a QR Code to be uploaded on the Parliament’s portal. May 22, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] In Kenya, privacy is becoming a battleground. Two proposed laws—the Finance Bill 2025 and the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill — threaten to fundamentally reshape our rights in the digital space. If passed, they will strip away protections we take for granted, placing our data, financial records, and online identities at the mercy of state agencies. Let’s start with the Finance Bill 2025. A clause in the Bill proposes to grant the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) the power to access your personal financial data—bank transactions, M-Pesa records, and even mobile data—without your consent or…
The death of Ngugi wa Thiong’o marks the closing chapter of an extraordinary era—an era when literature was not mere art, but ammunition; when the University of Nairobi was not just a place of academic instruction, but a bastion of ideological revolution; when writers wrote not just to entertain, but to liberate. .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:relative;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;padding:25px;border:1px solid #e0e0e0;border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,.1);background-color:#fff}.paywall-container h2{text-align:center}.paywall-container a{text-decoration:none!important}.paywall-header{font-size:24px;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:15px;color:#333;text-align:center}.price-highlight{font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;color:#d40511;margin:15px 0;text-align:center}.price-highlight .original-price{text-decoration:line-through;color:#777;margin-right:0}.divider{border-top:1px solid #e0e0e0;margin:20px 0}.subscribe-button{display:block;width:100%;padding:12px;background-color:#d40511;color:#fff;border:none;border-radius:4px;font-size:25px;font-weight:bold;cursor:pointer;margin-bottom:20px;transition:background-color .3s;text-decoration:none}.subscribe-button:hover{background-color:#b0030e;text-decoration:none}.features-list{margin:20px 0;padding-left:20px;list-style:none}.features-list li{margin-bottom:10px;list-style-type:none;position:relative;padding-left:25px;list-style-type:none!important}.features-list li:before{content:”✓”;color:#d40511;position:absolute;left:0;font-weight:bold}.existing-subscriber{text-align:center;color:#555;font-size:14px}.existing-subscriber a{color:#d40511;text-decoration:none}.existing-subscriber a:hover{text-decoration:underline} Get Trusted News for Only Ksh99 a Week Subscribe Today & Save! Get Started Unlimited access to all premium content Uninterrupted ad-free browsing experience Mobile-optimized reading experience…
Executive Director Global Compact Network Kenya Judy Njino receives a booklet of Corruption Risk Assessment and Mitigation Guidelines from EACC Chairperson David Oginde at Villarosa Kempinsiki Hotel Nairobi on May 23,2025. [Benard Orwongo,Standard] The other day in Kitale, irate wananchi torched Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) vehicles in broad daylight. The police watched from a distance—some say helpless, others say complicit. Either way, the silence and inaction of State agents in the face of such a brazen act is not just a reflection of waning public trust; it’s a signal that the relationship between citizen and state is fraying dangerously. What’s more…
The New Mukuru affordable Housing project buildings along Likoni Road in the Nairobi Industrial Area on 23, May 2024. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard] President William Ruto’s recent launch of the new Mukuru estate, hailed as a flagship affordable housing project, has been packaged with political fanfare and public optimism. Yet, as a student of history, one must resist temptation to be swept away by announcements and architectural renderings. The story likely to unfold in a few months or years is not one of a Singapore-style housing revolution, but rather a familiar Kenyan tale: an ambitious initiative marred by poor planning, limited inclusivity, opaque financing…
Budget briefcase during the Budget Highlights for FY 23/24 at the Parliament . June 15th,2023. [Elvis Ogina/Standard] Kenya’s 2025/2026 budget estimates, recently tabled before Parliament, paint a worrying picture of a government adrift—one that is not merely tightening the belt, but tightening it around the necks of the most vulnerable. In a year when the cost of living has reached punishing heights, when public hospitals are collapsing under the weight of patient demand, and when families are desperate for some relief, the proposed budgetary cuts threaten to plunge the country deeper into crisis. Worse still, some of the areas spared…
Judiciary officials count presidential ballot papers from Jomvu polling station at Milimani court buildings on Wednesday,August 31,2022 [Collins Kweyu,Standard] By the next general election, Kenya is projected to have roughly 27 million registered voters. If we maintain a 75 per cent voter turnout rate—as we’ve seen in past elections—that translates to approximately 20 million ballots cast in 2027. Now, do the math: how many votes can actually be stolen? Even under conditions of extreme manipulation, state capture, or institutional decay, it is virtually impossible to rig an election at a scale that overturns the will of the people in a landslide turnout. Suppose, for argument’s sake, that a million…
Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu reads the Budget Estimates 2024 /25 at the Parliament Buildings ,Nairobi .June 13th,2024. [Elvis Ogina ,Standard] It is a fundamental tenet of constitutional democracy that the powers of governance—legislative, executive, and judicial—must remain distinct. This principle, enshrined in the Constitution, is not a matter of theory or convenience; it is the backbone of accountable government. Yet, this principle continues to be violated, most glaringly in the management of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). At its core, the NG-CDF is an executive function. It involves the disbursement, allocation, and expenditure of public funds on development…
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua,during an interview with KTN at his Karen Residence on April 7,2025. [Benard Orwongo,Standard] Whoever whispered to President William Ruto the idea of impeaching his deputy must truly love this country—not because the advice was sound, but because in trying to isolate or oust Rigathi Gachagua, they may have unwittingly handed Kenya the opposition leader it sorely needs. Gachagua’s emerging defiance is doing what few expected: injecting discipline, clarity, and urgency into an opposition that has for too long wallowed in hesitation, betrayal and confusion. Since the advent of the Jubilee coalition in 2013, Kenya’s opposition…
Youths during Gen Z protests in Nairobi. [File, Standard] The story of June 25, 2024, is not up for debate. It is not a myth. It is not a matter of opinion, of interpretation, or partisan spin. It is history—raw, brutal, and indelibly etched into the soul of our nation. And as many have rightly said, this particular history is not written in ink. It is written in blood. On that fateful day Kenya crossed a line. Those who marched in the streets, who raised their voices in protest, and those who sought refuge from teargas and gunfire—these people are…
President William Ruto is welcomed by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. With them is China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan. [PHOTO REBECA NDUKU/PCS. 24/4/2025] While on his most recent trip to China, President William Ruto made a startling admission. He lamented that Kenyans do not compliment him. The moment, captured on camera and widely shared, betrayed more than frustration—it revealed a dangerous disconnect between a president and his people. Standing on foreign soil, he appeared to plead with international lenders—his de facto ‘masters’—for recognition, claiming that despite his efforts, Kenyans refuse…
Portrait of an arithmetic math teacher holding a pointer stick. [Courtesy, iStock] There are many ways to destroy a nation — but few are as insidious, humiliating and dangerous as turning the dignity of public service into a political circus. In recent times, no scene captures our national decay more vividly than politicians—many of them aligned with the Kenya Kwanza regime—waving Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employment forms in the air like prizes at funerals and rallies. This is not leadership. This is transactional politics at its lowest, where lives are reduced to campaign tokens and the sacred calling of teaching…
James Orengo addressing a rally in Kibra-Nairobi on November 16, 2017. [Willis Awandu, Standard] Watching TV the other day, I saw a group of hired youth staging a demonstration against Siaya Governor James Orengo. I have not spoken to Mr Orengo in a long while, but I felt compelled to speak out in his defence. In a season where silence has become the preferred language of cowardice and betrayal, Orengo has once again proven why history remembers him as a principled warrior of Kenya’s Second Liberation. His recent statement wasn’t just a political outburst—it was a moment of moral reckoning…
Instead of the joyous happy faces of grandparents playing with their grandchildren during their Easter holidays there is darkness hovering over our dear nation. And it is not just in policy failure or the blatant, overwhelming corruption but in something more haunting — the deadness in the eyes of those who claim to lead us. That empty, soulless stare of political narcissists who have long traded their consciences for power. These are not just flawed leaders. No. They are spiritually hollow beings — men and women who appear human but have long surrendered their humanity to something sinister; money worship.…
Senior counsel Pheroze Nowrojee. [David Gichuru, Standard] It is with a heart weighed down by grief and profound sorrow that I mourn the passing of my dear friend, comrade and brother in struggle, Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee. His departure from this world is not only a personal loss but also a monumental one for Kenya and all who believe in justice, human dignity, and the enduring worth of principle over power. Pheroze was not just a brilliant legal mind; he was the conscience of our country. In the darkest hours of our nation — when repression reigned and the machinery…