Kalonzo blasts Ruto and Museveni over Migingo MoU
By Isaac Mutia, July 31, 2025Wiper Party’s leader Kalonzo Musyoka on July 31, 2025, explicitly criticised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between President William Ruto of Kenya and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.
Kalonzo views the recent Ruto-Museveni MoU as a betrayal of regional democratic values, especially if it sidelines opposition voices or strengthens Ruto’s grip on power.
“Any agreement that cedes part of the territory of Kenya needs to be debated in Kenya. It needs to be passed by our parliament. Kenya and Uganda do not belong to our two heads of state, Ruto and Museveni, but belong to all the people of Kenya and Uganda,” he said.
Given his past strong anti-Ruto stance, Kalonzo fears that the MoU with Uganda will compromise Kenya’s sovereignty over Migingo Island or benefit Ruto’s administration at the expense of Kenyan fishermen.
Migingo MoU
The MoU was signed during Museveni’s official one-day visit to Kenya on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at State House, Nairobi. Both heads of state maintain that the MoU will promote peaceful resource sharing on Migingo Island. This suggests a renewed or ongoing diplomatic effort between Kenya and Uganda, potentially revisiting the 2019 MoU or establishing a new one.
The territorial dispute over Migingo Island, a tiny but densely populated fishing hub in Lake Victoria, has long been a point of contention between Kenya and Uganda, with both nations asserting control at different times (e.g., Uganda’s flag-raising in 2004 and Kenya’s claim based on 1926 boundary delineations).
Kenya and Uganda have had a complex relationship, with recent trade disputes (e.g., the 2023 oil import row) and border tensions. As such, an MoU between Ruto and Museveni will involve economic cooperation, security, or infrastructure projects (like the Standard Gauge Railway extension), which might be perceived by Kalonzo as aligning Kenya too closely with Museveni’s long-standing authoritarian regime.