City lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno has accused Parliament of abandoning its constitutional oversight role and aligning itself with the Executive.

Taking to his official X account on Monday, February 2, 2026, the Safina Deputy Party Leader has warned that voters are preparing to punish incumbents at the ballot over the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services.

Otieno said the political “honeymoon” between elected leaders and the public is over, arguing that the social and political contract that brought the current leadership to power has collapsed.

“The honeymoon is over because the political contract has collapsed. What MPs are witnessing is not noise; it is withdrawal of consent. The masses are no longer amused, no longer persuaded by slogans, handshakes, or weekend donations,” Otieno stated.

Public hardship

He further accused Parliament of endorsing policies that have deepened public hardship, including what he described as punitive taxation, unchecked borrowing, and failure to intervene as healthcare and education systems strain under budget cuts and mismanagement.

According to Otieno, voters are now reorganising their political choices around material conditions such as the cost of living, employment opportunities, public debt, and personal dignity, rather than party loyalty or political alliances.

“For two years, Parliament has: endorsed punitive taxes, legitimized reckless borrowing, looked away as healthcare and education collapsed, reduced representation to loyalty to the Executive,” he stated.

“Voters are now reorganizing their politics around material conditions, cost of living, debt, jobs, dignity. And when that happens, incumbents don’t get second chances; they get audited. The eviction notice won’t be emotional. It will be electoral.”

Voter revolt

He also argued that the growing public anger signals a demand for structural reform, not rhetoric.

Otieno said the popular phrase “drain the swamp” has evolved from a chant into a political programme aimed at dismantling elite capture and breaking what he described as an Executive–Parliament cartel.

“Drain the swamp is no longer a chant but a program: dismantle elite capture, break the Executive–Parliament cartel, and restore Parliament as a site of resistance, not applause,” Otieno wrote on X.