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Kisii County Senator Richard Onyonka has added his voice to the ongoing debate about reckless utterances of a section of the political leaders.

Speaking during a live interview with a local TV station on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, he said that some leaders do not yet understand the mood of the public because they have never felt like their views or opinions matter, which is why they are using reckless words while addressing the public.

Citing examples of politicians who are behaving recklessly, the vocal senator condemned the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, Hassan Joho, and Daadab Member of Parliament Farah Maalim’s recent utterances in public, stating that as veteran political leaders, they should not have used such words while addressing the public.

However, Onyonka said that he might excuse Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi’s reckless utterances because he is still young on the political scene.

“Some politicians don’t understand the public’s mood because they have never felt that public view or behaviour mattered. The feeling I have right now, and what many Kenyans are looking at, is that we are behaving recklessly. The likes of Hassan Joho and Farah Maalim are behaving recklessly.

“Farah Maalim has been around this legislation for the last 20 years. He has been with me; he has been the speaker while Joho Hassan has been one of the most senior politicians in Kenya. He has been the governor, but I may excuse Oscar Sudi because he has not been in politics long enough,” Senator Onyoka said.

Politicians’ reckless utterances

On Friday, January 10, Maalim was captured on video issuing controversial remarks in Turbo during President Ruto’s working tour of the North Rift.

The controversial lawmaker was accorded a chance to address the gathering in one of the Heads of State’s stopovers, to which he spoke unprintables while defending the president against his critics.

He declared that Ruto would not leave the presidency soon, as demanded by the naysayers of his administration, to whom he directed his abusive remarks, arguing that the president would win with a landslide as he guaranteed him the North-Eastern votes.

The inflammatory remarks by Maalim irked Kenyans online, with a majority criticising the lawmaker and calling for his resignation.

On the other hand, Joho, in December 2024, faced criticism from Kenyans after he threatened to go after online critics.

Joho, while speaking during a public rally in Taita Taveta on Monday, December 2, 2024, slammed social media users who spent their time criticising President Ruto’s administration.

“And I want to tell the young people of this country. Nchi haiwezi pelekwa namna hiyo. Wewe unakaa kwa mtandao, unakosa uzalendo; you become so unpatriotic. Mimi hapa ni expert kwa kupitia kwa maneno ya Junet, wa kutoka ODM, mimi nikae kwa mtandao hivi alafu nione mkenya mmoja hajui mbele wala nyuma, hajui cha asubuhi wala usiku, ati anasema Raila Odinga must fall….We will come for you, my friend. Tuko na mdomo kubwa kama wewe; ukileta, tunaleta; ukichoma, tunachoma,” Joho said.