Gitobu Imanyara: Why President Ruto does not believe in devolution

Activist and lawyer Gitobu Imanyara. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)

By Barack Oduor
Friday, August 15, 2025

"What Ruto said at the devolution conference is far from reality and most of these governors representing the old order would probably be voted out," said Gitobu Imanyara.

After 12 years of devolution, opinions remain divided over its successes and failures.

However, governance and human rights advocates argue that Kenya could have made greater progress.

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The Eastleigh Voice political reporter, Barack Oduor, spoke to human rights lawyer and politician Gitobu Imanyara about why he believes President William Ruto’s administration is stifling devolved governance and the impact this is having on human rights in the country.

Q: Devolution has been in existence for the last 12 years. What is your assessment of it, and what could have been the significance of its introduction?

A: The most consequential introduction in the 2010 Constitution was devolution. The purpose of devolving governance closer to the people was a result of the experience we had with provincial administration that dated back to colonial times, where the colonial government ran from the governor's office to the provincial administration, all the way down to the chiefs and assistant chiefs. It became the signature of the imperial presidency under the Kanu regime from the time of Jomo Kenyatta.

The 2010 Constitution attempted to do away with that by introducing devolution. I would say that there has been resistance from the executive, right from the word go, in ceding power from the centre, but of course, the devolution as a principle is one of the entrenched provisions in the Constitution; the executive has not succeeded in eliminating it completely.

What we saw in the Homa Bay Devolution Conference was just a talk show of governors showing off. Instead of governors being the offices that show that the people are truly sovereign, they have become 47 imperial presidencies. To that extent, devolution has not achieved its vision in the Constitution.

The good thing is that it is a principle in the Constitution. The central government has tried all it can to defund the counties by allocating funds that are not sufficient, but this has not succeeded. In the end, I have no doubt that the vision of the 2010 Constitution will be realised and governors will become servants of the people rather than little presidents.

Q: Despite the 12 years of existence, devolution is still facing setbacks, such as delayed disbursement of funds and not all functions have been devolved as the law requires. Do you think President William Ruto's administration has the will to have devolution succeed?

A: I was a member of Parliament in 2010 when the people of Kenya, by a landslide, approved the 2010 Constitution. I was in Parliament on the day it passed the facilitative provisions to bring to force the Constitution on August 27, 2010.

It is known that the chief opposition to the new Constitution was the Kanu faction in Parliament, led by William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, but their voice in Parliament was that of William Ruto.

I remember that they tried to force more than 200 amendments to diminish the provisions of the 2010 Constitution but they did not succeed because we kept denying them the two thirds majority that was required to amend the Constitution, and I remember, if you go back to the Hansard, a very frustrated William Ruto shouting at us in particular for walking out because we would wait until the House Speaker ordered us inside and we would walk out to deny them the numbers.

There was a mechanism of implementation of devolution in the Constitution, if you recall the Charles Nyachae Commission. However, it faced many hurdles and frustrations, and it finally failed.

Q: What do you think should be done 12 years later? Should there be a review or changes?

A: What we needed to have done and what needs to be done 15 years later about the entire Constitution is organising a conference such as that we had at Bomas during pre-2010 Constitution so as to look at what has succeeded, what has failed, and what needs to be done so that we can have wholesome attempt at restoring what has gone wrong.

We can do away with what has proved to be unworkable; by and large, the new Constitution, particularly devolution, has changed the face of Kenya. Some counties that had no single kilometre of tarmacked road now have tarmacked roads. It has been transformative in its effect, and that is why we need to strengthen the areas in which it hasn't worked.

Q: Even after devolution came, political leaders are still trooping to the State House and paying political homage in the name of seeking development for their regions. Why is this so? Has devolution failed to some extent?

A: It is unfortunate that in that regard, President William Ruto, who was very opposed to the new Constitution, is at State House, and old habits die hard. Ruto has not internalised the vision of the 2010 Constitution as he continues to run the government as if there is no Constitution in place. But fortunately, the judiciary has been substantially freed from the hands of the executive, especially from Ruto and his predecessor.

The courts have frustrated attempts to strangle the Constitution, and we see now the attempts to reduce the functionality of the Judiciary by denying them the necessary funding. The idea that was there when the Constitution was written was that those areas that had been underdeveloped and facing historical injustice would be served under the Equalisation Fund. We have seen MPs fighting for this fund all the time, and I believe these are some of the methods the government is using to kill the spirit of the 2010 Constitution.

Q: Do you think the political leadership, those in government and even in opposition, are guided by the spirit of the Constitution and constitutionalism in their undertakings?

A: The spirit of greed and thirst for money is what controls most of our leaders. The very spirit and the very vision of the 2010 Constitution is contained in Article 1, which notes that all power belongs to the people.

Despite having politicians financially benefiting from the old order, it is important to note that Kenyans are the real movers of the law, and this will be realised in the 2027 General Elections when practically all of them will be thrown out because they don't represent the wishes and the vision of the people.

We do need leadership that understands the purpose of the 2010 Constitution, and Ruto's greatest failure has been his attempt in action and inaction to draw back the Constitution, and I think this is what has led to the wantam slogan. People simply want him to follow the Constitution.

Q: President William Ruto spoke candidly at the Homa Bay County Devolution Conference on his commitment to ensuring that devolution succeeds. Do you believe his commitment to devolved governance?

What Ruto said at the devolution conference is far from reality and most of these governors representing the old order would probably be voted out and in this regard my friend Raila Odinga would be disappointed to hear from me saying that he has been a stumbling block because he has teamed up with a person whose track record in anti-constitution to facilitate his continued stay in power under the pretext that he is holding the country together yet he is not.

Raila Odinga led demonstrations that had far more impact. Unfortunately, I also saw many Gen Zs shot dead. Ironically, someone who was the father of demonstrations and protests would be the very person frustrating the intentions of Gen Z in realising a new constitutional vision.

Q: Kenya is faring poorly in its state of human rights, at least according to local and global reports. How can Ruto's administration shed this negative image?

A: We have never gone off the track as such because abductions have been taking place since the days of Jomo Kenyatta. What has taken us backwards is the failure to implement the Constitution.