Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku has opined that all legislators elected into office after Kenya gained its independence in 1963 owe Kenyans an apology.
In Ruku’s view, the MPs were tasked with the role of forging laws that would benefit the electorate and have instead slept on their job.
During an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday, the legislator says that 60 years after Kenya was liberated, the nation has not yet reaped any fruits through the past four regimes.
“If there are people who need to apologise to Kenyans is anybody who has ever been an MP from 1963 to now because that premium platform where Kenyans send representatives to go and shape the way things are done in the country they have failed Kenyans in a big way,” said Ruku.
Heaping praise for the current Head of State, William Ruto, Ruku expressed optimism that Kenyans will experience tangible results under the current government’s rule.
He said that Ruto harbors a deliberate plan, however unsavory, to inject permanent reforms to the nation for posterity.
“…Making decisions that are going to put in the proper work ethic and ensure that the resources are well ulitised. Today that is what President Ruto is trying to do to make very painful decisions that are not popular to many Kenyans.”
As Kenya celebrated the 60th Jamhuri Day on Tuesday, a reflection on the vision of the founding fathers for post-independence Kenya was ripe for interrogation.
In 1963, the founding father President Jomo Kenyatta declared war on three key issues; poverty, disease and ignorance and also ensure that every Kenyan child was educated.
“I have managed to build over 300 schools paid, controlled and financed by my people,” he said in a speech during his reign.
Four regimes later, the passionate vision of the founding fathers has been muzzled by poor governance structures and ills like corruption and a thirst for power.
President William Ruto, in his Jamhuri Day speech, acknowledged that the country’s GDP has grown by up to 5.4% in the last 6 months.
However, the real impact of this economic growth is yet to be fully realised by thousands of Kenyans still living below the poverty line and struggling to attain economic freedom in the 60 years since Kenya attained independence.
Experts are also warning against what they term modern-day colonisation through punitive tax structures and levies.
