Willis Otieno critiques MPs blind support for executive
By Faith Lagat, November 21, 2025Safina Party Deputy President-designate Willis Otieno has criticised Members of Parliament (MPs) for abandoning their oversight role and offering unwavering loyalty to the executive.
His post on X, dated November 21, 2025, followed MPs’ disruption of President William Ruto’s State of the Nation Address with “Tutam” chants endorsing his 2027 re-election bid.
“Kenyan MPs have become the scourge of the earth, parasites feeding on a nation they were elected to protect,” Otieno wrote.
He added: “They sit in Parliament not as representatives of the people, but as vermin gnawing at the very foundation of the Kenyan state, passing taxes they do not understand, approving loans they will not repay, and clapping like trained seals for Executive power.”
Timing amid national infrastructure plans
The post coincided with Ruto’s announcement of major infrastructure projects, including the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha to Kisumu and the dualling of key roads such as the 170-kilometre Rironi–Naivasha–Nakuru–Mau Summit highway.
“Next week, I will launch the dualling of the 170-kilometre Rironi–Naivasha–Nakuru–Mau Summit road. On the same day, we will break ground on the dualisation of the 58-kilometre Rironi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha road. The gridlock that paralyses these roads every day—especially on weekends and holidays—will soon be history,” Ruto said, as MPs interrupted him with cheering.
Ruto listed additional dualing projects and framed them as part of four national priorities requiring Ksh 5 trillion in investment, to be raised through public-private partnerships, privatisation proceeds, and a National Infrastructure Fund.
Public concerns over parliamentary oversight
Otieno’s remarks echoed recent controversies exposing perceived parliamentary acquiescence. On November 18, the Public Accounts Committee grilled Treasury officials over Ksh 55 billion in unsecured loans to Kenya Airways and a Ksh 6.2 billion Telkom Kenya buyout executed without parliamentary approval.
High Court Advocate Harrison Kinyanjui said MPs failed to challenge legislation effectively. “When MPs fail to challenge the bill from the executive. What are they doing to the Kenyan people? That is a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the Kenyan people. Whose allegiance do they hold supreme, that of their leaders or the people?” he said.