Seasoned human rights activist Dr. Isaac Newton Kinity has challenged the political narrative that President William Ruto is solely responsible for Kenya’s economic and governance problems, arguing that corruption and the looting of public funds remain deeper and longstanding challenges facing the country.
Kinity, in a televised public address on Saturday, October 3, said those in the opposition were misleading Kenyans by portraying Ruto as the country’s only problem, despite having worked and socialised with him for years.
He said Kenya’s problems did not begin with the Ruto administration, noting that the country experienced corruption and the misuse of public resources under previous administrations led by Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.
“William Ruto is not the only problem in Kenya because corruption and the looting of public funds are the main problems in Kenya,” Kinity said.
Kinity also cautioned young Kenyans, including the Gen Z generation, against placing all their hopes in the current opposition ahead of the 2027 General Election, arguing that a change of government would not automatically end the hardships facing the country.
He said a future administration could blame Ruto for the country’s problems and argue that it would take years to repair the damage inherited from his government, instead of immediately addressing corruption and improving accountability.
According to Kinity, Kenya’s political debate should focus less on personalities and more on the misuse of public resources, which he identified as a major obstacle to improving the country’s economic and social conditions.
Kinity is a former Secretary General of the Kenya Civil Servants Union, a human rights activist and Chairman of the Kikimo Foundation for Corruption and Poverty Eradication.
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