Willis Otieno slams MPs with foreign passports as political tourists
By Kiprono Keileb, August 24, 2025Lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno has delivered a stinging attack on Members of Parliament accused of holding foreign passports, branding them political tourists who betray the country while pretending to defend it.
In a statement posted on his X account on Sunday, August 24, 2025, Otieno argued that Parliament is increasingly becoming a refuge for leaders whose loyalty is divided between Kenya and foreign nations where they hold citizenship. He said this not only violates the Constitution but also undermines the spirit of true representation.
“Article 78 demands undivided loyalty. If our MPs hold foreign passports, they serve two masters. That is not representation, it is betrayal. Parliament was meant for citizens whose only home is Kenya, not for part-time Kenyans with safe havens abroad,” Otieno declared.
He reminded Kenyans that the Constitution is clear on the issue, citing provisions that expressly bar leaders with foreign citizenship from occupying certain positions.
“Article 78(1) expressly prohibits a person who holds the citizenship of another country from being elected or appointed as a Member of Parliament, or indeed from holding any State office,” he stated.
Otieno acknowledged that there is a limited exception, but warned that it is narrow and often misused. “Article 78(2) provides a limited exception for those who were born Kenyan and subsequently acquired citizenship of another country. Even then, the scope of that exception is restricted, particularly for offices that implicate national security,” he explained.
According to him, the true problem is not just legal but moral. He argued that while some MPs may fall within the exception, their divided loyalties weaken the very essence of representation.
“The spirit of the law, however, is as important as its letter. Representation in Parliament demands undivided loyalty to the Republic. An MP whose immediate refuge is Dallas, London, or Toronto who legislates in Nairobi by day and plans his family’s future in a foreign jurisdiction by night is at best conflicted, at worst a constitutional fraud,” Otieno said.
He cautioned that this issue is not confined to one constituency but is widespread across the political class. “The tragedy is that this is not unique to Mosop. We know of several MPs and State officers who quietly clutch foreign passports, disclose nothing, and yet legislate on matters affecting millions of Kenyans. This creates a class of leaders who are Kenyan only for the convenience of power, while their ultimate safety net lies abroad,” Otieno noted.
For him, this represents a betrayal of the people’s sovereignty under the Constitution. “At its core, this is a betrayal of the sovereign will of the people under Article 1. Parliament was never meant to be a halfway house for part-time Kenyans. It was meant to be the sovereign expression of citizens who have no other home but Kenya,” he said.
In his final words, Otieno urged citizens to remain vigilant and to question the true loyalty of their representatives.
“Kenyans must open their eyes. Parliament today is not just occupied by thieves; it has also been infiltrated by impostors, men and women who pledged allegiance to foreign nations yet sit in our august House pretending to speak on your behalf,” he warned
Otieno’s remarks are likely to spark debate around the integrity of elected leaders and the enforcement of constitutional provisions meant to safeguard sovereignty.