Questions about corruption and accountability in Kenya have once again taken center stage after lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno challenged President William Ruto over his recent remarks.
Otieno, speaking through his official X account on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, accused the President of applying double standards in the fight against graft.
He argued that while Ruto is pointing fingers at senators and members of parliament for alleged extortion, he has not come clean on the source of the huge amounts of money he regularly channels into religious donations and projects.
Otieno drew attention to the President’s own admission that he intends to construct a Ksh1.2 billion church at State House, Nairobi, which he described as public land.
According to him, this raises serious questions about accountability and priorities, especially when Kenyans are grappling with the high cost of living. He further asked how the President manages to donate Ksh20 million every Sunday to churches across the country without providing clear details on where the money comes from.
For Otieno, such acts cast doubt on Ruto’s credibility whenever he speaks against corruption among other leaders.His remarks came barely a day after President Ruto alleged that governors who face impeachment proceedings have often fallen prey to extortion, with some senators reportedly demanding as much as Ksh150 million to protect them from removal.
Speaking during a joint meeting of ODM and Kenya Kwanza parliamentarians in Karen on Monday, August 18, 2025, the President said corruption within Parliament had gone too far and needed to be confronted head-on.
Ruto also accused certain legislators of collecting Ksh10 million to pass the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, a critical piece of legislation with significant impact on Kenya’s financial regulations.
He warned that such conduct was destroying the credibility of Parliament, noting that money collected in the name of the institution often ends up in the pockets of individuals rather than serving the intended legislative purpose.
The President vowed that moving forward, those involved in both giving and receiving bribes would face arrest and prosecution. Despite this tough talk, Otieno insisted that the President could not escape scrutiny. He reminded Kenyans that real leadership in the fight against graft requires consistency, meaning that the same tough questions Ruto is asking of legislators should also apply to his own financial practices.
The exchange has stirred fresh debate on whether Kenya’s leaders are truly committed to fighting corruption or if the rhetoric is only directed at political rivals. For many citizens, the matter underscores the need for transparency at all levels of leadership, where accountability must begin from the top before it can be demanded from others.
