Kuria to leaders: Baba is not mwarubaini, stop over-relying on him

Former senior advisor to the president, Moses Kuria, has cautioned both governors and the ruling party, United Democratic Alliance (UDA), against relying too heavily on opposition leader Raila Odinga for political convenience.

Speaking on Tuesday night, Kuria said some politicians appear to treat Raila as a solution to every challenge, warning that such thinking is outdated and unsustainable.

He compared this tendency to the belief that mwarubaini (neem tree) can cure multiple illnesses.

“My good friend Baba is being misused by two kinds of people. The first category believes that as long as you have Baba, you have the solution to everything. Baba is not mwarubaini that can cure all diseases. Society has changed, and that reality is about to crumble,” Kuria said.

Kuria, who clarified that he is not a UDA member, said the party should avoid leaning on Raila’s influence.

“It is within my province to caution them that Baba is not mwarubaini,” he said.

He also criticised governors, saying some of them invoke Raila’s name to shield themselves from institutional oversight.

The former Cabinet Secretary added that he believes some county leaders are drawing on the former Prime Minister’s influence to push for policy changes.

“Some other people called governors, stop using Baba as an influencer for all those policy changes. Even from his views of saying the Senate should not summon governors, tangu lini? That’s very clear,” Kuria said.

The former CS urged leaders to respect institutions and due process rather than rely on political patronage.

His remarks came a few days after Raila stated that the responsibility of oversight over governors should lie with Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs).

Speaking during a joint parliamentary group meeting between ODM and UDA, Raila said that it should not be the duty of Senators.

He argued that Senators spend time summoning governors to respond to issues, including roads, some of which fall under the mandate of the National Government.

“Oversighting governors is the responsibility of MCAs, not the Senate. Senators are wasting the governor's time, to come and answer questions about roads,” Raila said.