Senator Dan Maanzo faults ODM-allied Cabinet Secretaries for prioritising politics over service delivery
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, May 18, 2026Makueni County Senator Dan Maanzo has criticised ODM-allied Cabinet secretaries, accusing them of spending more time engaging in politics instead of focusing on service delivery to Kenyans.
Speaking in an interview with a local TV station on Monday, May 18, 2026, Maanzo said that the cabinet secretaries should strictly steer clear of politics to focus on problems affecting ordinary people instead of getting involved in political skirmishes and rallies.
“When you are a CS, you should actually stay away from politics and go and work for the people of Kenya. Unfortunately, the four ministers from ODM are participating more in politics than serving Kenyans, and we want them to do their level best and serve Kenyans,” Maanzo said.
Broad-based government political accord
The outspoken senator’s sentiments have come as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and President William Ruto’s government side, the United Democratic Alliance, negotiated a broad-based political accord.
The cabinet secretaries are people who took up positions with the ODM through an initiative to bring in political inclusiveness and to diffuse tension that had arisen in the country due to prolonged political disagreements.
Maanzo has argued that Cabinet secretaries are meant to serve ministries and run government programmes that promote the welfare of Kenyans and not engage in public skirmishes and political campaigns.
The senator’s remarks come amid the excruciatingly high cost of fuel, cost of living, job insecurity and economic uncertainty that many Kenyans are facing, which the government is expected to address.
Maanzo called on all ministers to keep the wananchi as their priority and to ensure that while providing public service is the primary objective of the ministers, they must also ensure that they get results for the wananchi.
Constitutional provisions
In Kenya, Article 77(2) of the Constitution of Kenya bars appointed state officers from holding office in a political party. This is enforced more broadly across all public servants by the Leadership and Integrity Act (Section 23) and the Public Officer Ethics Act (Section 16), which prohibit public officers from engaging in political campaigns or acting as agents for political parties.
The Election Act (Section 23) requires public officers who wish to contest in an election to resign from office at least six months before the election date.