NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 31 – Immediate former Chief Justice David Maraga has dismissed President William Ruto’s proposed national dialogue on Kenya’s post-Vision 2030 future as a distraction from what he termed the administration’s failures on corruption, the cost of living and constitutionalism.
In a four-page statement issued hours after Ruto’s address, Maraga— the United Green Movement (UGM) co-party leader and presumed 2027 presidential candidate—dismissed the President’s speech as an exercise in “false hope,” arguing that Kenyans remain worse off than they were when Ruto assumed office.
“Are you better off today than you were when William Ruto took office?” Maraga posed, saying the answer for most Kenyans was “no.”
The former CJ said corruption had worsened, the cost of living had become unbearable and excessive borrowing had strained households, describing the country’s situation as “a national emergency.”
Maraga argued that the next administration’s priority should not be launching fresh policy blueprints but restoring constitutionalism, the rule of law and accountability.
“From 2027 to 2032, the leadership that replaces this administration must have one overriding priority above all others: resetting this country to the rule of law and to constitutionalism,” he said in a statement released early Friday.
He further called for those implicated in corruption to face prosecution and for stolen public funds to be recovered, saying accountability must replace what he termed years of impunity.
Turning to Ruto’s proposal for a national dialogue to craft Kenya’s development agenda beyond Vision 2030, Maraga argued that the President was seeking to replace the country’s long-term development blueprint without first accounting for why its original goals had not been achieved.
“President Ruto has effectively abandoned Vision 2030 before accounting for why its central promises were not achieved, and now asks the country to embrace another grand development vision,” he said.
Ruto announces dialogue to shape post-Vision 2030 Kenya
He also accused the President of undermining the Constitution despite repeatedly invoking it during his address.
According to Maraga, constitutional guarantees have been weakened through alleged abductions, killings and human rights violations, making it impossible for government to credibly claim it has strengthened democracy.
The former Chief Justice further criticised the administration over what he described as runaway corruption, police abuses and enforced disappearances, saying those issues were omitted from the President’s address despite being central to public concern.
Maraga urged Kenyans to judge the government’s performance based on their own lived experiences rather than official pronouncements.
“If the answer is no, know that you are not alone, and know that a different Kenya, governed by law, accountable to its people and free of state capture, is possible,” he said.
