President William Ruto’s senior advisor, Makau Mutua, has criticised People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua over her advocacy for limiting presidents to a single five-year term, calling her stance inconsistent with her past political actions.

Mutua made the remarks on X on January 9, 2026, accusing Karua of hypocrisy given her involvement in supporting President Mwai Kibaki’s controversial second-term bid.

“My good friend @MarthaKarua shouldn’t lecture Kenyans about the virtues of limiting presidential tenure to one term when she and her political co-religionists nearly collapsed Kenya trying to get President Kibaki a second term in an election he clearly lost to Raila Odinga in 2007,” Mutua posted. The 2007 election dispute, during which Karua served as Justice Minister, resulted in widespread violence and a subsequent power-sharing agreement.

Karua defends one-term presidency proposal

This comes after Karua, in a morning television interview on January 8, 2026, argued that a culture of one-term presidencies would promote ethical leadership, reduce corruption, and prioritise public service over power retention.

“I am not seeking two terms, Ruto one term, and Martha Karua one term, and I am saying that for the next four elections, Kenyans should elect presidents who pledge only for one term,” she stated.

She emphasised that leadership should be transient, with presidents acting as team leaders delivering impactful results within five years. “We must entrench the culture that leadership is transient and that none of us will ever finish building this country. You do your best during your 5 years and leave it for the next,” she added.

Karua linked second-term pursuits to corruption and inefficiency, noting that leaders often compromise public resources and citizens’ rights to fund re-election campaigns.

Drawing from her tenure as Minister for Water and Irrigation, she said significant achievements are possible within a limited term. “I was minister for water for only one term, and people remember a lot from the work I did. It is possible to do such work not in a ministry but countrywide, because all you are required to do is to be a team leader who takes the team to different levels,” she said.

Debate on electoral reforms and leadership culture

Karua’s push for rotational leadership builds on her earlier pledges during the launch of her 2027 presidential bid in September 2025, where she committed to serving only one term if elected.

She positioned the idea as a corrective measure targeting President William Ruto’s administration while presenting herself as a servant-leader focused on foundational progress.