Willis Otieno says conclave pointless if deals are ignored and deaths continue
Lawyer Willis Otieno has questioned the credibility and purpose of any proposed national dialogue or conclave, saying it amounts to a futile exercise if the government continues to ignore previously signed agreements.
Speaking on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, during an interview on a local TV station in reference to the 10-point agenda signed earlier this year between the Kenya Kwanza administration and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Otieno highlighted concerns that even signatories to the document, such as Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, are publicly admitting that the commitments made are not being implemented.
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“The crocodile came out and told us that the alligator is sick; that is, Edwin Sifuna, a signatory to the 10-point agenda, came out and told us that what we signed that we are going to do is not happening,” Otieno said.
Civilian deaths
Otieno also pointed to the disturbing reality that 2025 has already witnessed more civilian deaths in protests and unrest than the previous year, casting doubt on the state’s commitment to addressing the people’s grievances.
He emphasised that what is unfolding in Kenya is not mere political posturing but a genuine agitation by the people, who are increasingly determined to disrupt and dismantle a system that has historically marginalised them.
“Then on the same breath, we are still proposing that we have a conclave. If that which was signed this year is not being implemented, if anything, we now have more deaths this year than we had last year,” he noted.
His remarks come amid growing public frustration over economic hardship, police brutality, and perceived insincerity in the national political discourse.
Otieno on terrorism laws
This comes days after the lawyer sharply criticised the Kenyan government for what he described as the dangerous misuse of terrorism laws to silence dissenting voices.
His remarks came amid growing concern over recent arrests of demonstrators and civil society leaders under Kenya’s anti-terror laws, actions widely criticised by human rights groups.
Pressure now continues to mount from legal experts and civil society demanding the restoration of civil liberties and adherence to the rule of law.
In a strongly worded statement on his X account on Monday, July 21, 2025, Otieno accused the state of weaponising the law against its citizens, warning that branding peaceful protesters as terrorists marked a disturbing erosion of justice and democratic principles.
“When a state begins to hurl the charge of terrorism at its citizens, not for acts of violence, but for daring to dissent, it reveals more than just paranoia,” Otieno stated.
“It exposes a regime that no longer knows the difference between a protester and a threat, between a citizen and an enemy.”
Otieno argued that the government’s response signals desperation and fear rather than authority.
“To equate the raised voice of the governed with a bomb is to confess a fear of the truth, a fear so profound that even peaceful resistance becomes intolerable,” read the statement.
