Former Chief Justice and presidential hopeful David Maraga has made a scathing attack on the government of William Ruto, accusing it of being the overseer of what he termed as an economic injustice against Kenyans and that its activities represent a criminal enterprise.

In a video shared on his X handle on Friday, April 17, 2026, Maraga argued that the current government is over-taxing its people, yet not providing real social value in return. He claimed that the widening taxation regime has been successful in crunching household income, and there is no idea as to how the raised money is being spent.

“Ruto’s government is literally perpetrating economic terrorism on the Kenyan people, and that has to be stopped. If you look at the taxes, everything that has been set up is taxation, and that taxation does not go to the pulse, it goes to the people’s pocket,” Maraga asserted.

Maraga has argued that the taxation system in place under the leadership of Ruto seems to be aimed at ransacking the common Kenyans without delivering any improvement in the services offered to the citizens. He has claimed that rather than money coming back to the welfare of the people, it is being diverted to the likes of a few people in influential groups.

This former Chief Justice went a step further to describe the situation as economic terrorism, where the financial pressure on the citizens is not only intentional but also unsustainable. He issued a warning that this kind of policy is dangerous in increasing inequality and destroying the confidence people have towards government institutions.

Maraga slams Ruto over Affordable Housing project

At the heart of his criticism was the government flagship programme, the Affordable Housing Programme Kenya. Maraga has referred to the conflict of interest in the supply chain, especially in the purchase of construction materials. He highlighted allegations of one supplier dominating the supply of steel to the project, casting doubt on the issue of competition, transparency and profiteering.

Maraga has made a direct implication of vested interests in President Ruto in the steel supply, which was associated with the housing project, an implication that, should it be validated, would increase the scepticism surrounding the administration of state projects.