This archive report was first published on 23 May 2020.
On May 23, 2020, Martha Karua, leader of the Narc-Kenya party, spoke out against the impact of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga on governance in Kenya.
According to Karua, the handshake led to the erosion of the opposition's role in Parliament and politics, resulting in a lack of checks on government excesses. She noted that in handshake politics, the opposition is often seen articulating government policies, rather than holding them accountable.
“The intention of the handshake might have been noble, but the outcome was a situation where Kenyans were left bare to suffer the vagaries of uncensored acts of misgovernance,” Karua said.
Karua also expressed concerns about the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that there was a lack of transparency in the utilisation of funds meant to combat the virus. “There is no one explaining budgetary utilisation. It is as if all in the fight have been given blank cheques to fill the amounts to benefit them,” she said.
She warned that the war against graft would never be won in an environment where those close to anti-graft czars are spared and bulldozed into positions of power, while the weak and powerless are convicted at “lighting speed”.
