Abdullahi, who also serves as the chair of the Council of Governors (CoG), urged Kenyans to recognise the difficult terrain the administration is navigating.
“We need to be fair to the government in office. Let them work. In two years, every Kenyan will have the opportunity and the democratic right to vote for whoever they believe is the right leader,” he said.
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi speaking at Wajir Haigh
school./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi and Health CS Aden Duale in
Wajir./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has urged Kenyans to be fair to President William Ruto’s administration, calling on critics to give the government time to deliver on its promises before passing judgment.Speaking on Saturday July 12, during the 60th anniversary celebrations of Wajir High School, Governor Abdullahi said the current administration is facing harsh and, at times, unjustified criticism, particularly from sections of the opposition, civil society, media, and religious leaders.“As a person, I’m not known for sycophancy — that has never been my style in politics,” said Abdullahi.
“But from where I sit, certain sections of the religious fraternity, the media, and the civil society are being extremely unfair to President William Ruto. We are judging him with a very skewed yardstick.”Ruto’s critics have accused his government of backtracking on campaign promises, stifling dissent, encouraging police brutality, failing on corruption, and undermining national unity.
Protests, many of them youth-led, have swept across the country in recent weeks, leading to deadly clashes with police and widespread property damage.Abdullahi, who also serves as the chair of the Council of Governors (CoG), urged Kenyans to recognise the difficult terrain the administration is navigating.“We need to be fair to the government in office. Let them work. In two years, every Kenyan will have the opportunity and the democratic right to vote for whoever they believe is the right leader,” he said.
“But insulting the president daily in headlines is not fair.”He stressed that while the right to protest is enshrined in the Constitution, it must be exercised responsibly.“Constitutional rights come with responsibilities. We cannot claim to defend democracy while burning down police stations and destroying people’s lifetime investments,” he said.The governor also took aim at the media, accusing it of focusing only on state violence while ignoring the threats faced by security officers on the ground.“We see on our national TVs armed policemen running away from protesters. That’s not how a country is built,” said Abdullahi.
“Sixty years after independence, we should be better than this.”He added that Kenya’s democratic system, though grounded in a strong constitutional framework, continues to be undermined by ethnic-based political mobilization and polarizing narratives.Governor Abdullahi’s remarks come at a time of rising political tensions and deadly unrest in the country.
His call adds to growing voices urging for calm and a return to national dialogue — even as public frustration over the government’s performance remains high
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi speaking at Wajir Haigh
school./STEPHEN ASTARIKO 
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi and Health CS Aden Duale in
Wajir./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
