By Billy Mijungu

Over the last few days, Kenyans have witnessed a new face of Parliament. For years, our legislators thrived in a culture where money exchanged hands in the name of development, and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was the central tool of patronage. Suddenly, that comfort zone is being threatened. The calls to end transactional politics and abolish CDF have unsettled MPs so deeply that they now appear ready to summon everyone and declare war against all arms of government.

This discomfort is healthy. It exposes the reality that without CDF, Members of Parliament must rediscover their true constitutional role: oversight, legislation, and representation. Gone are the days when they could walk into villages distributing bursaries and claiming development projects as personal donations. If they can no longer use CDF to entrench themselves, then their only survival strategy is to fight, fight governors, fight cabinet secretaries, and perhaps even challenge the presidency itself. And that, ironically, is exactly what Kenya has always needed, a Parliament that bites.

With Parliament forced back to its original role, the results could be revolutionary. Governors would finally feel the sharp teeth of oversight. No county boss would dare steal public resources with the same impunity we have seen over the last decade. Each of them would know that a vigilant Parliament, starved of CDF, is watching and waiting to pounce. Likewise, no cabinet secretary or senior bureaucrat in the executive would escape scrutiny. Suddenly, the culture of accountability would no longer be a matter of choice but of survival.

This shift has the potential to rebalance the entire architecture of governance. For too long, Parliament has been compromised by the allure of handouts and the easy politics of CDF. That culture transformed our MPs into development contractors instead of watchdogs of public interest. Meanwhile, governors mismanaged billions, the executive stretched its powers unchecked, and citizens were left helpless. Now, without CDF, MPs must reinvent themselves as true representatives of the people.

We are, in fact, living in promising times. For once, institutions are at war with each other not in the destructive sense, but in a battle over accountability and control of public resources. This war could force transparency into the bloodstream of government. It could compel governors to deliver genuine services to counties. It could pressure the executive to justify its actions openly. And it could remind MPs that their real power lies not in cutting ribbon on classrooms built by CDF, but in exposing corruption and demanding answers on the floor of the House.

Imagine, for instance, a scenario where the President himself is summoned to Parliament to answer questions about government policy, expenditure, and priorities. That is not a far fetched dream, it is the natural next step when transactional politics is stripped away. The President would have to face the people’s representatives, just as governors face county assemblies. That level of accountability would mark a new chapter in Kenya’s democratic journey.

This is why the current discomfort in Parliament should be welcomed, not resisted. If losing CDF means gaining a Parliament that bites, then Kenya is on the right path. History will record this as the moment when MPs stopped being contractors and returned to being custodians of accountability.

What a great time to live in.

By Billy Mijungu

If there was ever anyone in history whose consistency of availability has made it possible for every politician to pay attention, that would be Man Stevo, Kalonzo Musyoka. He is the man who has stayed relevant across decades of shifting political winds, not because he is the loudest voice or the most radical reformer, but because his presence provides a balance of calm, respect, and patience that few Kenyan leaders can rival.

Kalonzo has managed to clean the tag of “watermelon,” a label once thrown at him by critics who saw him as indecisive. Today, that very patience and careful balancing has turned into a virtue that attracts believability from the masses. He has remained in politics long enough to earn trust, and in a country where political scandals are almost a routine, he stands out as one of the few leaders never accused of using office to amass questionable wealth. From the 1980s to date, Kalonzo has held public office without his name ever being tainted by corruption, and that alone makes him a rare breed.

If there was ever a safe pair of hands in Kenyan politics, it is Kalonzo Musyoka. If pragmatism was a person, it would be him. He embodies moderation, sobriety, and caution, qualities that have made him the man everyone calls when things threaten to fall apart. He is the glue that keeps unlikely coalitions together, the mediator who is trusted by opposing camps, and the steady hand that tempers political storms.

Kalonzo has also consistently espoused family values and a deep religious faith. His lifestyle has remained modest compared to many of his contemporaries. He is known for being a family man, a man of prayer, and a leader who does not flaunt excesses. This profile has made him relatable to ordinary Kenyans who crave leaders that reflect their values.

In every election cycle, Kenyans have gone for what they consider the lesser evil, and in many cases the point of convergence has been Kalonzo. He has played the role of kingmaker multiple times, standing beside Raila Odinga since 2013, offering loyalty that few other political figures could sustain for over a decade. In 2007, he was the “compromise candidate” who took the Vice Presidency when the country was in flames, and even his harshest critics agree that he helped stabilize a nation on the brink.

You cannot doubt the reform agenda of William Ruto. His projects dot the country, from housing units in towns and villages to infrastructure that is meant to touch the ordinary mwananchi. But the amount of pressure Kenyans have endured to finance this agenda has broken many backs. The balance is missing, and what the country now requires is a fusion between a reformist like Ruto and a pragmatist like Kalonzo. For sustainable development, the steady hand of a man like Kalonzo is essential.

As 2027 approaches, Kenyans are looking forward to a cooling off period. The politics of heat, chest thumping, and confrontation has exhausted the public. The next President, from 2027 onward to 2032, must embody calm, sobriety, and inclusivity. In the eyes of many Kenyans, Kalonzo Musyoka represents that cool balance.

It is no wonder that everyone needs Kalonzo. Ruto needs him to calm the storm and give him five years as a deputy. Raila Odinga needs to reward his fifteen years of loyalty, and he remains an acceptable face to the people of Nyanza who respect his steadfast partnership. Matiang’i, should he re-emerge in 2027, would need him to cement a solid ticket. Even Rigathi Gachagua would find in him a partner who can carry the Mount Kenya South agenda with credibility and without polarizing the nation.

Yet Kalonzo represents more than just pragmatism. He is the last tribal chief in Kenyan politics, a custodian of Kamba unity who has held his community together in every election. Unlike other regions where loyalty has shifted or fragmented, Ukambani has remained firmly behind Kalonzo. He commands respect as a cultural and political figurehead, a role that is fading in Kenya’s new generation of politics. His ability to deliver his community as a block makes him indispensable in coalition arithmetic. He carries the symbolism of the last kingmaker, one foot rooted in the traditions of ethnic loyalty and another in the modern demands of national politics.

What is clear is that the Lake and the Mountain will soon step back and allow other regions to take leadership, while still holding influence in the background. That vacuum will demand a figure who is trusted, moderate, and acceptable across the divides. Kalonzo Musyoka stands tall as that figure.

In the end, Kalonzo is not just a politician. He is a constant in Kenya’s shifting politics. He is the last tribal chief, the final unifying custodian of his people, and the one leader who still embodies both cultural loyalty and national acceptability. Everyone needs him, not just because he brings votes, but because he brings peace of mind.

By Anderson Ojwang

For the first time, the country is in agreement and is speaking with one voice. From the president, legislators, opposition and the public. The ogre about rampant and runaway corruption, that is eroding the country’s basic fibre.

The fibre that held the nation together, when gallant heroes and heroines as they fought against colonialism to liberate Kenya to independence.

The country is moving from a state of denial to acceptance in a bid to heal the nation and decidedly tackle the ogre of corruption that has caused havoc from the Parliament, to Judiciary, Public Service and the Executive.

President William Ruto during the recent Devolution Conference in Homa Bay and ODM-Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting claimed the legislature was breeding corruption by demanding bribes from Cabinet Secretaries and Governors.

He said the bicameral Parliament has turned the House Committees into money-minting rings and is ignoring their oversight responsibilities.

“There is something going on in our legislature that we must call out. There is money being demanded from the executives and governors, from ministers, and from people in the executives especially for those who go for accountability before our house committees in the parliament.

It cannot continue to be business as usual, it is not possible that committees of parliament demand to be bribed and paid for them to write reports or to look the other way for what is happening in the national government or the county government.

I have made it absolutely clear to the chair of the Anti-Corruption Commission and to the CEO that there will be no sacred cows and there will be no telephone calls anywhere below or above to stop anybody from being prosecuted for matters of corruption.

Somebody who has stolen public funds and then goes to court and then gets anticipatory bail. This makes it impossible for such a person to be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

Equally, Ruto during the parliamentary group meeting said MPs soliciting for bribes will be arrested and prosecuted.

“What is the job of chair of welfare in the committees? What is the job? Extortion and that is what the Prime Minister Raila Odinga was saying. You know what is Soko Uhuru. Tell me. You know Soko Uhuru. The latest Soko Uhuru in the Senate, because you have to accept, because by the virtue of the position I hold today, I am a consumer of raw intelligence. I know what is going on. Where does somebody find sh 150 m? Is that his money? That is money that belongs to the country.

Let me ask you for example members of the parliament seated here, do you for example know that a few members of your committee collected sh 10 m so that they could pass the law on anti-money laundering. Did you get the money? So going forward, there are people who are destroying the credibility of parliament and they are collecting money in the name of parliament.

And some of the time that money never gets to parliament but it gets to a few people. We are not going to shame them but we are going to arrest them. Do we agree?”

Raila said “the issue of extortion is real. Every committee has got a member who is the welfare chairperson, this is giving a bad image of the parliament. Members of the parliament should not be soliciting bribes from the executives. The environment we are creating in this country is very hostile to investments. Foreign investors who come into the country bring their resources to invest it here. And when they bring their resources and find there is too much bureaucracy and there is too much extortion. They run away. Private capital is risk-shy.

We need to slay this animal called corruption. Corruption in the judiciary, legislature and the executive, in the media, and private sector,”.

Senator Moses Kajwang said at the conference that they have to hold the executive to account and that parliament was not a branch of the executive.

Manyatta Member of Parliament Gitonga Mukunji accused Ruto of hypocrisy in labelling Parliament as a den of corruption.

MP Mukunji, however, alleges that the executive itself has been complicit in bribing lawmakers to advance its interests.

Mukunji claimed that during the controversial 2024 Finance Bill debate, President Ruto’s administration used financial incentives to pressure legislators into passing the bill.

Mukunji argued that President Ruto cannot distance himself from corruption, which he says is deeply entrenched in Parliament.

He urged fellow lawmakers to uphold their constitutional oversight role, warning that colluding with the executive for financial gain or favours erodes public trust and undermines their credibility.

“It is a shame that the President is saying that, whereas every time there’s a bill that is against the people, he’s the first person to offer those bribes, ili vitu zake ziende vile anataka,” said the legislator.

“Tumepitisha bills za kuongeza ushuru, sai kila mtu hapa ako na payslip analia – courtesy of those bribes that happen in the National Assembly. Tumepitisha hata Finance Bill, ile ilikuwa imeambiwa na wananchi hawataki – courtesy of those bribes. So let us be genuine when we’re doing leadership.”