Maraga urges Ruto to prioritise lecturers’ pay over handouts
Former Chief Justice David Maraga has challenged President William Ruto to use the economic empowerment to pay lecturers who are on strike.
Maraga has continued with his onslaught, pointing out that the funds, which are being given to the public by now broad-based leaders across the country, are not in the budget, saying the government has displaced priorities.
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Speaking on Friday, September 19, 2025, when he addressed a graduation ceremony for Diploma and Certificate in a local hotel in Kisii County, Maraga said money being given in the form of empowerment is enough to pay university lecturers who have gone on strike over salaries and address challenges facing the education sector and others.
“The government should use the money to pay our lecturers who are on strike. They have the wrong priorities when our education is at stake. What nobody has told you is the source of the funds. It is bribery in advance of the 2027 General Election,” he said.
Maraga claimed the funds are being siphoned from public coffers and given to members of the public as donations from the government, terming it wrong and unacceptable.
He scoffed at Ruto’s administration, accusing it of failing to address the plight of Kenyans and implored Kenyans to vote it out in the next General Election and replace it with visionary and development-conscious leaders.
“I challenge voters to turn out in large numbers in the next general election and elect leaders who can manage the affairs of the country well to uplift the lives of Kenyans”, Maraga noted.
Elsewhere, students lament the disruption of studies as lecturers’ strikes stall universities.
The 2027 contest
He said he has not started political campaigns, stressing that he was only going round the country to meet stakeholders to know their views and challenges so that he can address them if he is elected president in 2027.
The former CJ also ruled out any possible collaboration with President William Ruto, even as he beefs up his political muscle.
He has periodically denied that he is a project to compete with former Interior and Education Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang’i, who is also eyeing the presidency, saying he has the qualities to lead the country. Maraga and
Some residents have been prevailing upon the former CJ to drop his bid in favour of Matiang’i to avoid splitting the over 1 million votes in the Gusii region in vain.
David Omato, a university Lecturer and expert in governance, says that if Maraga goes to the full hog, he will get his share of votes, adding, residents will vote more for popular candidates.
He says that if Matiang’i gets a backup from other communities, he will garner most votes from the Gusii region, adding, Maraga will also get his share.
“The voting pattern in the Gusii region has always been predictable. Voters vote based on the popularity of the candidate and his alliance,” Omato said.
The university Don noted no presidential candidate will win an election without being in alliances, stressing, those who vie outside the alliances have an uphill task to convince the majority of residents to elect them.
