‘Ruto must prove graft claims against MPs’ – Caroli Omondi explodes in parliament
By Steve Ireri, August 19, 2025Suba South MP Caroli Omondi has challenged President William Ruto to table evidence over his corruption allegations against Members of Parliament or issue an apology, accusing the Head of State of subjecting legislators to blanket condemnation.
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Omondi slammed Ruto for what he termed as repeated character assassination of MPs, warning that those guilty of corruption should be prosecuted individually instead of tarnishing the reputation of the entire House.
“Thank you very much, Honourable Speaker. I will be brief. Let me say that now it’s three times the president has attacked the character of everyone in this House, including yourself. We must now take it as mass character assassination, and we won’t accept it. Those who are guilty, let them be charged on their own,” Omondi said.
He added that Ruto had made similar remarks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, during the Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, and again at the Parliamentary Group meeting in Karen on Monday.
“It is so unfortunate that a statement condemning all of us as corrupt and extortionists, yet some of us have held the sharp end of the knife to support him, is something we cannot accept. Mr President must either bring the evidence, take those people to court, or apologise and withdraw,” Omondi asserted.
The legislator further praised the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) chairperson for clarifying constitutional issues that had been misinterpreted during the Parliamentary Group meeting.
He pointed to Article 96 of the Constitution, affirming that the Senate indeed holds oversight powers over county governments.
“Let me also say that I am very happy the Chairman of JLAC has read out the Constitution, because a lot of misinformation happened at our PG yesterday. The allegations that the Senate has no power to oversight county governments have now been debunked. Article 96(3) of the Constitution is very clear on that. Let me also debunk that falsehood.”
State capture
Caroli then blasted the state of affairs in the country, expressing deep concern over what he described as state capture.
He warned that multiple channels were leaking government revenue into private pockets, calling on authorities to immediately identify and hold those responsible accountable.
“Yesterday, I was very upset. There is state capture in this country. How many channels are leaking government revenue into private pockets? Let us call them out,” he said.
He also fired shots over the controversial privatisation of sugar mills, insisting that Parliament summon the Minister of Treasury to provide full explanations on who authorised the transactions and why public funds meant for national development had been siphoned off.
Caroli insisted that silence in the face of such corruption amounts to complicity, stressing that the fight for transparency and accountability must be taken directly to those misusing public resources.
“Sugar mills were privatised; let us know who authorised that. Call the Minister of Treasury to come and explain to us. Let us take the war to them. If they want, we will give it to them,” he added.
Ruto’s warning
Omondi’s remarks came in direct response to President Ruto’s stern warning to legislators over alleged corruption tied to the passage of bills.
On Monday, August 18, 2025, during the Kenya Kwanza–ODM talks in Karen, Ruto accused some MPs of pocketing Ksh10 million to facilitate the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, warning that both bribe givers and takers would face arrest.
“We are not going to shame them, we are going to arrest them, whoever is giving and whoever is being given, we shall sort them out. Do you, for example, know that a few members of your committee collected Ksh10 million so that you can pass the law on anti-money laundering? Did you get the money?” Ruto asked.
The president also alleged that a few individuals were exploiting Parliament’s name to collect money, which in many cases never reached Parliament but instead benefited a select few.
“Going forward, there are people who are destroying the credibility of Parliament, and they are collecting money in the name of Parliament, and most of the time that money never gets to Parliament; it gets to a few people,” he said.