Renowned constitutional lawyer and Safina Party Deputy Leader Willis Evans Otieno has urged Kenyan leaders to shift their focus from internal party negotiations to addressing the pressing issues affecting ordinary citizens.

Taking to his social media account on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Otieno criticized the ongoing practice of backroom politics, where he said legacy politicians negotiate positions and power ahead of elections.

He argued that such deals often sideline ordinary Kenyans, leaving them to grapple with unemployment, rising costs of living, and inadequate public services.

“Our focus must remain firmly on the people and the economy, not on backroom negotiations where legacy politicians bargain over positions and power ahead of the election,” Otieno wrote.

“For too long, politics has been reduced to elite agreements made behind closed doors, while ordinary citizens are left to struggle.”

Change in political view

He asked for a change in the way politics works, saying that being a leader should be seen as a duty to serve rather than a reward for loyalty.

According to Otieno, this is the moment for the leaders to put Kenyans as a priority and reject the current politics of the country.

“We reject that politics. We reject a system where leadership is treated as a reward for loyalty instead of a responsibility to serve. This moment demands that we put Kenyans first. farmers, workers, small businesses, and young people who wake up every day to build this country,” Otieno said.

Otieno stressed that urgent action is needed to revitalize the economy, create jobs, lower the cost of living, and restore dignity to Kenyans.

“Our priority is to fix the economy, create jobs, lower the cost of living, and restore dignity to our people,” Otieno said.

Economic capture by powerful elites 

Otieno has raised concerns over the state of the economy, saying many Kenyans are struggling despite working hard every day. He pointed to growing inequality and called for urgent reforms to ensure fairness and opportunity for all.

In a statement shared on X on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, Otieno described an economic system that he says has been taken over by a small group of powerful individuals, leaving ordinary citizens behind.

“The economy isn’t broken; it’s been captured by a powerful few who profit while millions of hardworking Kenyans struggle just to get by. For too long, our nation’s wealth has flowed upward, siphoned off into the hands of the connected, the privileged, and the untouchable. Meanwhile, the small farmer, the hustler, the teacher, the artisan, the true engine of this country, are left to fight over scraps,” he wrote.