An open letter to President William Ruto: Katiba Day must be more than symbolism
By Aloys Michael, August 27, 2025I commend your administration’s recent declaration of Katiba Day, a bold and necessary move that recognises the enduring significance of the 2010 Constitution.
It is indeed time that the country pauses to reflect on the journey of constitutionalism. However, while the gesture is commendable, it would be dishonest not to call out the contradiction that threatens to make this day a hollow ritual.
Sir, you are presiding over a regime that is in open contempt of the very Constitution we seek to celebrate.
The 2010 Constitution is more than ink on paper. It is a social contract built on the blood and tears of a people long betrayed by the impunity of the past. It was designed to constrain power, guarantee rights, and anchor accountability. And yet today, under your watch, many of its articles lie in ruin.
Extrajudicial killings remain a tragic reality. Despite your early commitment to end police brutality, bodies continue to pile up in shallow graves and on riverbanks. Innocent lives are extinguished in silence, often young men from impoverished communities who lack the privilege of a fair trial. Article 26 of our Constitution guarantees the right to life. What do we say to the mothers whose sons vanish without a trace? Is this the Kenya we voted for?
Corruption, too, is back with a vengeance, cloaked now in high-sounding language and policy jargon. The Auditor General’s reports expose billions syphoned through ghost projects, shady tenders, and state capture by elite cartels. Meanwhile, ordinary Kenyans shoulder a punishing tax regime.
They are asked to tighten their belts while watching officials live in obscene luxury. Article 10 speaks of integrity and transparency in public service. Where is it, Mr President?
Government incompetence is equally disturbing. Strategic sectors like health, education, and agriculture are choking under the weight of bureaucratic mismanagement. Youths are jobless. Farmers are disillusioned.
Counties are cash-starved. All this while your government continues to hire cronies who lack even the most basic qualifications for office. Are we building a merit-based Kenya or rewarding political loyalty?
Mr President, it is not lost on us that you may have good intentions. But intentions alone cannot build a nation. Execution matters. And that is where your administration is failing, spectacularly.
You seem surrounded by handlers more interested in their own survival than national service. Their arrogance, disconnect from reality, and unfiltered contempt for the suffering Kenyan is a cancer to your leadership.
Are handlers failing govt?
The Bible speaks of a king named Rehoboam, son of Solomon (1 Kings 12). When he ascended to power, the people pleaded with him to lighten the heavy burden left by his father. He sought advice.
The elders told him to serve the people, and they would serve him faithfully. But he ignored them, choosing instead the counsel of his youthful, reckless peers who told him to increase the burden. The result? The kingdom split. He lost the trust of the people. His legacy was ruined.
Mr President, Kenya is at a crossroads. You still have time to shift course. Use Katiba Day not just for pomp and speeches but for national repentance and rededication. Acknowledge the rot. Clean your house. Demand accountability from your Cabinet and agencies. End the reign of impunity and fear. Return to the spirit of Chapter 6, integrity in leadership.
History does not remember those who tried; it remembers those who transformed. You fought long to become president. Now fight harder to become a statesman. Make the Constitution the guiding star of your governance, not a prop for political convenience.
The Kenyan people are watching. We are hoping. Do not let Katiba Day be another public holiday. Let it be the turning point.