Dennis Onsarigo, the late Raila Odinga’s secretary, has described the late former President Mwai Kibaki as the worst head of state in Kenya’s history.

Speaking in an interview on Iko Nini, in an interview aired on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Onsarigo acknowledged that while Kibaki received praise for economic measures that boosted Kenya’s growth, his leadership ultimately had a deeply negative impact on the country.

Onsarigo argued that Kibaki, despite being the most popularly elected president and enjoying a huge mandate from Kenyans, abused that privilege. He claimed that Kibaki’s actions after 2007 led to a profound division within the country, leaving scars that have yet to heal

. According to Onsarigo, the period following Kibaki’s second-term elections exposed ethnic divisions more sharply, creating tensions between communities that have persisted over the years.

“But I think, to be honest, and I want this to go on record, I feel Kibaki was the worst president ever. Why? In terms of after, after 2007, before 2007, I think back to when he, Kibaki, had the mandate from the people to govern this country. Yes, yes. Huge mandate, most popular elected president ever, yes, but he abused that; he abused that privilege, and he divided us, and we’ve never recovered. We will never recover,” Onsarigo stated

He criticised Kibaki for concentrating power among his own community while marginalising others, which, in his view, fostered a regionalised approach to governance.

This, Onsarigo said, left Kenya fragmented and unable to recover fully in subsequent years. He also suggested that the political landscape in 2013 did not reflect the government Kenyans had hoped for, as the divisions sown earlier continued to influence national politics.

Onsarigo concluded by reflecting that had Kibaki chosen to retire in 2007, Kenya might have avoided much of the political and ethnic polarisation that followed his presidency.

Manyora’s perspective

Onsarigo’s view also mirrors what seasoned political analyst Herman also regarded: the late former President Mwai Kibaki as the worst Head of State in Kenyan history.

While speaking during an interview aired on his channel on Friday, September 13, 2025, according to Manyora, Kibaki is the root cause of issues that still bedevil the nation to date, such as tribalism, and if he had set a good precedent then, the nation would be in a better position now and free from such vices.

Manyora has stated that if Kibaki had stuck to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that he signed with fellow coalition principals who had supported him in rising to power in 2002, then tribalism would have ended.

According to Manyora, Kibaki’s failure to agree to the MOU was the one that led to a spurt in tribalism that still cripples the nation to date.

“The opportunity to deal with this issue firmly and decisively once and for all had been with us since independence; the animal of tribalism had presented itself. If Kibaki could have stuck to the MoU, this thing called tribalism could have died then,” Manyora stated.