Mbeere North Member of Parliament Leo Wa Wamuthende has dismissed claims that President William Ruto has used abusive language towards the opposition leaders in his recent political rallies.

According to Wamuthende, the President’s recent remarks were a necessary challenge to an opposition that he claims lacks a constructive agenda.

Speaking during an interview with a local station on Thursday, March 26, 2026, the lawmaker said the President’s comment that some individuals “lack brains” is an observation and pointing out a weakness rather than an insult.

“President Ruto has not used abusive language. When he said people lack brains, he was simply challenging the United Opposition to return with ideas that match what his administration is delivering daily,” Wamuthende said.

Form a Shadow Cabinet

He urged the United Opposition to stop “yapping” and instead demonstrate their intellectual capacity by forming a shadow cabinet with alternative policy proposals, similar to previous opposition leaders.

“That’s really not abusive language. If you have a brain, then show it. And I want to remind Kenyans that there is a time we had an opposition that even used to have a shadow cabinet,” Wamuthende stated, arguing that the opposition’s current platform should not merely focus on a one-term agenda or slogans while the President delivers on his daily commitments to the country.

The lawmaker also defended Ruto against accusations of body-shaming following his advice for citizens to eat less and visit the gym.

Wamuthende characterized these remarks as healthy advice that aligns with the recommendations of doctors and nutritionists to prevent non-communicable diseases.

“It is not body shaming because I tell you to go to the gym. I’ve not said you are fat, I just said go to the gym and don’t eat too much,” Wamuthende said.

Ruto-Opposition public spat

His remarks come in the wake of a public spat in which President Ruto took a swipe at opposition figures over their physical fitness, prompting sharp responses and escalating political tensions.

President Ruto, while speaking in Cheptais, Mt Elgon, in Bungoma County during his tour of the Western region on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, had encouraged opposition leaders to go to the gym.

Ruto argued that the opposition leaders’ ‘big bellies’ could be behind their struggles to stay awake during official meetings.

“Kwanza nawaambia baadhi yenu mwende gym; acheni kula chakula kingi. Matumbo yamejaa hadi vichwa vinakaribia kupasuka. Mnalala kwenye mikutano hata mchana,” Ruto said.

“To the brainless opposition, the governance challenges at the Nairobi Hospital were nothing more than an opportunity to scavenge for cheap headlines and attention,” Ruto said.