Former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chair PLO Lumumba has hailed the disposition of Kenyans to question issues around them.

Speaking during a revealing interview hosted by a local TV station on Monday, May 12, 2025, Lumumba attributed the inquisitive tendency to the critical gains made in the spheres of the freedom space and development of the nation.

The renowned orator made the remarks while dissecting the state of the country’s media freedom and political landscape.

“We have become a society that questions, and that is critical. What we should do is move further. There are those who want to claw back on the gains we have made,” he stated.

“The fact that we can sit here and say certain things that to the political class are unpalatable is a good thing. This is how you fertilise and cross-pollinate issues for the benefit of the nation,” he affirmed.

Lumumba, who served in the Law Society of Kenya, affirms that through the habit, the political class has been compelled to engage in self-censorship on matters relating to policies and governance.

“We have created an environment where the politician may want to do certain things, but they cannot. Sometimes there has been pushback, but with the increasing human rights space, people have been afraid to do certain things,” he added.

The lawyer also waded into the topic of devolution, decrying what he termed as strangling the facet entrenched in the constitution promulgated back in 2010.

“We have strangled devolution so that it doesn’t work in its full splendour. Indeed, devolution has had its say in terms of improving many things. The marginalised society is being mainstreamed, and persons with disabilities and women are playing a prominent part in the political space,” he added.

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PLO also touched on the 2024 anti-government demos orchestrated by the youth commonly referred to as Gen Zs. The orator touting the impact of the ovement started by the group to last for the foreseeable future.

“Our young people conquered fear, and once you do that, it is the beginning of liberation. Let me tell you, the country has never been the same again, and it will never be the same again. There may be a lull, but the seed was planted. You can see they have migrated from streets to social media, speaking largely responsibly, and have made the persons in government and the opposition run scared. They know there is a crop of young Kenyans who have unmasked and undressed them at once. What remains is that they must organise themselves and ensure, in the run-up to elections, they keep up the ante,” he concluded

Lumumba’s remarks come amid heightened controversy over President William Ruto’s recent nomination of commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The names elicited objections from the political class, with questions raised regarding Anne Amadi and Nyachae, central to the controversy.

“It is public knowledge that Anne Amadi was involved in a major scandal, and that is a matter of concern. Simeon Nyachae worked with President Ruto in the legal field and has close ties to him. These are individuals about whom Kenyans have reservations. Qualifications alone should not be the only consideration — especially when serving in the IEBC. Integrity should be everything,” Murang’a senator Joe Nyutu said in a statement with a local TV station on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

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