Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has openly accused President William Ruto of suppressing the independence of the Judiciary and denying citizens their constitutional right to political association through a series of government crackdowns targeting dissent.
Speaking during the Law Society of Kenya annual conference in Diani, Kwale County, Kalonzo warned that such actions, if left unchecked, could gradually plunge the country back into dictatorship.
His words set the tone for what turned into a heated exchange between President Ruto’s allies and opposition leaders.
Kalonzo said the Kenya Kwanza government was slowly re-entrenching authoritarianism by criminalising freedoms that are guaranteed under the Constitution.
He reminded the audience that Kenya’s Constitution incorporates international treaties on human rights, meaning the government has no excuse to undermine them.
In his remarks, he stated, “You cannot criminalise human rights…we all know, under Article 20 of the Constitution…we imported, and this is part of our domestic law, those treaties that Kenya has been signatory to, and all those human rights entrenched…therefore you cannot run away.”
The Wiper leader went on to accuse the President of deliberately clawing back the democratic progress the country has made over the years.
He said the crackdowns against dissenting voices and the Judiciary’s independence are designed to silence critics and weaken institutions.
Leaders allied to ODM echoed his remarks. ODM Secretary General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna directly challenged Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, telling her to convey to the President that it was him who needed lessons on the rule of law.
Sifuna insisted that lawyers understand what anticipatory bail and constitutional freedoms mean, but it is the Head of State who appears unwilling to respect them.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino also joined in with his usual dramatic style, praising Kalonzo and Sifuna while demanding that the President respect the Constitution.
He said the time had come for leaders to stand firm and resist any attempts to undermine rights that Kenyans fought hard to secure.
His remarks were received with applause, underscoring the growing concern within the opposition about the government’s direction.
Kalonzo further accused the administration of abusing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, saying it was being misused to target political opponents rather than its intended purpose of tackling dangerous international groups like Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda.
According to him, those arrested and dragged before anti-terrorism courts were treated like terrorists simply because they opposed the government.
The confrontation at the LSK conference has created tension ahead of a planned joint Parliamentary group meeting between ODM and Ruto’s UDA party.
With both sides hardening their positions, the standoff now threatens to widen the rift between the ruling coalition and the opposition.
For Kalonzo and his allies, the fear is that Kenya may be slipping back to a dark era where dissent is punished and the Judiciary is weakened, while for the government, the criticism signals a new wave of opposition pressure it must contend with.
